Bordeaux 2013 Primeurs: Château Lafleur
Just down the road from Petrus is Château Lafleur, were I arrived five minutes early for my tasting appointment. Well, there is a first time for everything; and at least now I know what “arriving early” really feels like. Baptiste Guinaudeau was ready and waiting, with samples lined up for tasting. After a few minutes of conversation (I had assumed we were just killing time while he waited for other visitors with an appointment at the same time to turn up, but in the end nobody else arrived) we kicked off. Although I have already mentioned it in my 2013 vintage summary, to find yourself a lone visitor at Château Lafleur during the primeurs is a sure sign of a decline in visitor numbers (and of a lack of interest in the vintage as a whole) to Bordeaux this year. It is a little like turning up to Château Latour, or Château Lafite-Rothschild, and finding yourself alone in the tasting room. If I recall correctly, visitor numbers were said to be down 8% compared with 2012 Bordeaux, but it seemed quieter than that number suggests during the week.
No matter, it made for a more conducive tasting environment. Baptiste gave a quick rundown of the vintage from Pomerol’s and Lafleur’s point of view. He described it as a paradoxical vintage, starting with a cold spring, with temperatures 3ºC below average during May and June, with an excessive amount of rain. Interestingly he described the flowering here at Château Lafleur as “good enough”, with no significant reduction in projected yield as a consequence of the spring weather. Then came the paradox; this was in July, when the weather suddenly turned, now temperatures were typically 3ºC above normal, and it was very dry. Baptiste views this dry spell as very important in determining the style of the vintage, the vines bearing smaller berries as a result; the average berry size in 2013 was smaller than in the 2009 vintage, and was close to 2010.
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