Châpeau à Lafleur (encore!)

Attention!! Heatwave in Pomerol (and everywhere else)  

As the mercury spikes its way through forty degrees in the land of Pomerol, the good and visionary people of Lafleur must be feeling relatively pleased with themselves – they can water!  

In a post last September, we passed on the news that the renowned producer was to leave the Pomerol AOC, becoming a simple a ‘Vin de France’, leaving themselves to be free to make their own decisions, no longer bound by the various rules and regulations. 

It also meant they are no longer allowed to be called Château Lafleur, just plain old Lafleur! 

One of the driving forces behind their decision to leave was based on being able to water, or irrigate or, more correctly and in the words of Omri Ram, Director of both R&D and Trade, carry out a ‘soil recharge’. 

This isn’t just about someone with an old watering can pottering between the rows of vines of an evening, this is a highly sophisticated, data-driven exercise. 

 The water is injected far from the roots, in the middle between the rows, to avoid giving the vines easy access, which would be irrigation. The real objective is to first revive the soil, and its flora and fauna. Only then do the vines and the soil negotiate how much water is the vines’ share. This is designed to be closer to how it happens without human intervention (think summer rain) and avoids the vines becoming lazy dependants. 

There are eleven different research sensors dotted around the vineyards, measuring the water content in the soil, and other scientific readings that determine healthy plants, around the clock. 

Last year was a very hot year, but 2026 is easily outstripping it, and all others since records began – and there are already signs of burnt leaves in parts of the appellation. It is more usually around thirty degrees at this time of year, a good 10 degrees lower. 

So far, and since early June, Lafleur has injected a small and scientifically measured amount of water three times. 

And it’s not just any old water, either. This is absolutely not drinking water from the tap, it is from their own water supply, collected from a Dordogne overflow reservoir and suitable for plants, not for humans! 

The rationale is that pre-empting any hydric stress in the vines stops the vines from ‘shutting down’ which, rather perversely, causes the plants not to be able to take on water. 

Also, when vines shutdown they can’t cool themselves anymore which can lead to leaves burning, and then the fruit. The worst-case scenario is that the vines die.  

Last year the Pomerol AOC allowed watering only on 22nd August, by which time a lot of damage had been done. The authorities will probably make the same allowance sometime soon, in light of the extreme conditions, but it may prove to be too little, too late. 

Another initiative Lafleur are currently experimenting with is a ‘misting’ procedure. Within five rows of their vines, a thin plastic cable emits a light cloud of watery mist (think lettuces in French supermarkets), that descends and refreshes the vines, taking the temperature between the rows down by a whopping ten degrees! 

They are at the forefront of vineyard data and are using it wisely, in a modern way. Interestingly, they are more in conversation with producers from the new world than the old world and are in regular conversation with growers in regions less regulated such as Adelaide, Napa and Swartland. 

Behind the data collecting and analysis there is huge amount of manual vineyard work involved. There is then the application of the resulting interventions, another tough and manual process.  

As Omri says “this is our specialty at Lafleur. We are not on some sort of a crusade; we just want to make decisions based on viticulture”.  

Clearly this is another case of ‘châpeau à Lafleur!’ for seizing the initiative. 

If the French authorities fail to change their tune, it maybe more than the heatwave that leaves them a little red faced!  

Miles Davis, wilting 25th June 2026