Chateau Lafleur Gazin Pomerol Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Lafleur Gazin Pomerol with wine tasting notes and wine-with-food pairing tips. Learn the best vintages, a history of the property, and information on winemaking and vineyards. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau Lafleu-Gazin History, Overview

Chateau Lafleur-Gazin is situated not far from Chateau Lafleur and close to Chateau Gazin. As you can easily surmise, that location is where Chateau Lafleur-Gazin takes its name from.

In fact, Lafleur-Gazin is also situated very close to the famous Petrus vineyards as well! The question is, as it’s located next to so many famous names in Pomerol, it’s a wonder as to why this property does not produce a more exciting Bordeaux wine. How does that happen?

Owned by the Delfour-Borderie family, Madame Delfour-Borderie is in charge of the estate. Under a long-term rental agreement, Chateau Lafleur-Gazin has been farmed and managed on the winemaking and commercial end by Ets. Jean-Pierre Moueix since 1976.

This is not the first time the vineyard has been under a leasing agreement. Back in the early 20th century, the estate had a similar arrangement with a different Bordeaux Negociant.

In March 2023, Chateau Lafleur-Gazin was sold to the Lavaile family, who are already quite well-acquainted with Pomerol, as they already own the neighboring Pomerol vineyard, Chateau Vieux Maillet. In fact, Herve Laviale and Griet Laviale–Van Malderen are experienced vignerons as they also own Chateau de Lussac in St. Emilion, and before that, they were the owners of Chateau Franc-Mayne in Saint Emilion.

Chateau Lafleur-Gazin Vineyard, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 8.5-hectare Pomerol vineyard of Chateau Lafleur-Gazin is planted to 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, which shows an increase in the Merlot and a decrease in the Cabernet Franc planted here.

The terroir of Lafleur-Gazin consists of silt, gravel, clay, iron, and sandy soils. While it appears that they are on good terroir, that is not the case. The vineyard is in two distinct sections with one part having more gravel with clay soils and the other section having more sand on its slopes.

On average, the vines are kept at 30 years of age. The vineyard is planted to a vine density of 6,000 vines per hectare. The average annual production of Chateau Lafleur-Gazin is close to 3,500 cases of Bordeaux wine per year.

For the production of the wine at Lafleur-Gazin, two laser sorting tables have been in use since 2009. The winery uses thermoregulated concrete vats and since 2004, some stainless tanks were added for the fermentation. Malolactic fermentation takes place in vat. The press wine is added or not during the barrel aging.

The wine of Chateau Lafleur-Gazin is then aged in 25% new, French oak barrels for an average of between 18 to 20 months before bottling. The Right Bank wine is racked 3-4 times per year and is fined using egg whites in the second winter. Chateau Lafleur-Gazin does not produce a second wine.

The best vintages of Chateau Lafleur-Gazin are: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2010, 2009, 2005, 2001, and 2000, However, starting in 2015, the quality of wine produced here took a big leap in quality. 2020 is the finest vintage ever produced here in the history of the estate.

When to Drink Chateau Lafleur-Gazin, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Lafleur-Gazin can be enjoyed on the young side with an hour or two of decanting. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume.

Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. The wine is better with 4-6 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. In the best years, Chateau Lafleur-Gazin will be at its best between 5 and 12 years of age after the vintage.

Serving and Decanting Chateau Lafleur-Gazin with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Chateau Lafleur-Gazin is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.

Chateau Lafleur-Gazin is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau Lafleur-Gazin is also good with Asian dishes, and hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.

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