Château La Fleur de Boüard 2018

Stylish, with a mocha hint up front followed quickly by steeped cherry and plum fruit flavors. Nice licorice coating on the velvety finish. A bit reliant on its toast, but will certainly have fans. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2025. 10,833 cases made.

There is clear quality here with ripe blackberry and loganberry fruits and a sweet vanilla bean touch on the finish. It's approachable and will be ready to drink within a year or two.

Black plum and blueberry on the nose with dark chocolate, clove, oyster shell and walnut husk. It’s full-bodied with firm, silky tannins. Layered and flavorful. Open already, but better from 2023.

The 2018 La Fleur de Boüard is very well defined on the nose, with gorgeous scents of blackberry, blueberry, violet and potpourri bursting from the glass while retaining fine delineation and focus. The palate is crisp on entry, with graphite-tinged black fruit framed by fine tannins and a structured, tensile finish. This is one of the best La Fleur de Boüard vintages I have encountered. Excellent.

Fresh red berries blend well with the oak nuances, earth, licorice and floral characteristics. Silky and vibrant, with a mix on the palate blending sweet red fruits, chocolate and thyme. This is good now and promises to be even better with some age.

Deep garnet core with a ruby rim. The nose offers fine purity and some evolution with nougat, toast, fine oak, a hint of truffle and sweet red fruit notes. The palate shows good density and concentration, finely melted tannin with a silky texture, some aromatic sage and bay leaf notes with wild berry fruit, oak-derived spicy hints and a long, supple finish.

Always one of the gems in a vintage, the 2018 Château La Fleur De Boüard is a no-brainer purchase and has a ripe, medium- to full-bodied, sexy style that carries lots of sweet cassis, spicy oak, flowers, and scorched earth-like aromas and flavors. With plenty of fruit, notable freshness and purity, and the vintage’s elegant, seamless style front and center, it’s already hard to resist, yet it will integrate its oak over the coming 3–4 years and shine over the following decade or more.

Deep garnet with purple highlights. Very sweet blueberry bouquet, almost like compote, with licorice and cassis spice in the background. On the palate, soft and extremely charming. A focused finish with a full basket of blueberries.

Kunz barrel sample 19: (85% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon) Silky, dense, fruity bouquet, blackberries, black cherries, dark chocolate, roasted notes, dark tobacco. Balanced, full, fruity palate with powerful, sweet fruit, creamy texture, plenty of fine tannins, intense, sweet aromatics, long, opulent finish.

(85% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon) Velvety, dense, fruity bouquet: blackberries, black cherries, dark chocolate, roasted notes, dark tobacco. Balanced, full, fruity palate with powerful, sweet fruit, creamy structure, plenty of fine tannins, powerful, sweet aromatics, long, opulent finish. 17/20 2024 - 2042

Precise tannins, an energetic, long wine, with plenty of drive and depth.

A sanguine, slightly spicy juice leaves a palate with woody tannins, marked by the vintage’s finesse and length. A pity the oak dominates the finish.

The bouquet of La Fleur de Boüard is clearly marked by its élevage, yet it also reveals pleasant notes of black berries and licorice wood. The palate is indulgent and slightly creamy. The wine has body and is supported by a refreshing acidic structure. This brings energy to the whole palate, while the silky, well-integrated tannins provide solid backing. A flavorful and balanced wine that can certainly be enjoyed in its youth but also shows good aging potential.

The nose is fresh, fruity and concentrated, offering richness (yet perfectly balanced). There are notes of ripe blackcurrant, ripe boysenberry and, more subtly, fresh/juicy raspberry, with fine hints of violet, ripe/juicy blueberry, delicate touches of cornflower and nutmeg, as well as discreet notes of licorice, toasted nuances and toasted almond. The palate is fruity and balanced, with good definition, juiciness, indulgence, a mineral backbone, tension, a fine smoothness, roundness, a subtle creaminess and richness. On the palate, this wine reveals notes of juicy/fleshy blackberry, juicy/fleshy raspberry and, more slightly, fleshy/juicy blueberry, joined by small touches of licorice, dark chocolate and toast, as well as discreet hints of cornflower and ripe almond. A lovely wine that is delicate, refined, taut and rich (yet perfectly balanced!).

Logo on the capsule: inverted T (Trescases) Very beautiful deep dark red, intense and youthful. Fine, fruity, pure nose. Subtle hints of spice. Soft on the attack and consistently accompanied by a refined touch, the wine caresses the palate—aromatic, seductive—on a tannic texture with a distinguished weave. Long finish.