Chateau La Fleur de Gay 2009
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Robert
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James
Suckling -
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
As always, there is an elegance to the La Fleur de Gay, but the tell-tale flowery, raspberry jam, and blueberry pie notes jump from the glass along with hints of graphite and truffle. Deep, rich, full-bodied and textured, with sweet tannin and a stunning elegance and purity, this beauty that can be approached now or cellared for 20-25 years.
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James Suckling
Phenomenal aromas of crushed raspberries, with flowers and orange flower. Full-bodied, with layers of polished tannins and ripe fruit. Hints of blueberries too. It's so balanced and beautiful. One of the best La Fleur de Gays in years.
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Wine Spectator
This is quite hedonistic, with exotic fig, pastis-soaked blueberry and plum fruit supported by a caressing, milk chocolate-accented frame. Well-layered, with intense wood spice and licorice notes filling out the finish, where there's a long roasted grip edge.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is concentrated, powerful stuff, the fruit seriously ripe and rich, balanced between chocolate, dark coffee and blackcurrant juice.
Other Vintages
2015-
James
Suckling
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Robert
Parker
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Wine
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
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Spectator
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Robert
Parker
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
A source of exceptionally sensual and glamorous red wines, Pomerol is actually a rather small appellation in an unassuming countryside. It sits on a plateau immediately northeast of the city of Libourne on the right bank of the Dordogne River. Pomerol and St-Émilion are the stars of what is referred to as Right Bank Bordeaux: Merlot-dominant red blends completed by various amounts of Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon. While Pomerol has no official classification system, its best wines are some of the world’s most sought after.
Historically Pomerol attached itself to the larger and more picturesque neighboring region of St-Émilion until the late 1800s when discerning French consumers began to recognize the quality and distinction of Pomerol on its own. Its popularity spread to northern Europe in the early 1900s.
After some notable vintages of the 1940s, the Pomerol producer, Petrus, began to achieve great international attention and brought widespread recognition to the appellation. Its subsequent distribution by the successful Libourne merchant, Jean-Pierre Mouiex, magnified Pomerol's fame after the Second World War.
Perfect for Merlot, the soils of Pomerol—clay on top of well-drained subsoil—help to create wines capable of displaying an unprecedented concentration of color and flavor.
The best Pomerol wines will be intensely hued, with qualities of fresh wild berries, dried fig or concentrated black plum preserves. Aromas may be of forest floor, sifted cocoa powder, anise, exotic spice or toasted sugar and will have a silky, smooth but intense texture.