"G" Acte 1 to 8

BY NEAL MARTIN&nbsp;| JULY 16, 2019&nbsp;

Back in
the mists of time, I remember Baptiste Guinaudeau, the tousled co-proprietor of
Lafleur, unveiling a new wine at his parents’ family home, Grand Village.
Christened “G Acte 1,” it was a blend of old Merlot vines and Cabernet Franc rooted
not on Pomerol clay but on Fronsac limestone. Though it was just a barrel
sample, I was both intrigued and impressed by this new addition to the
portfolio, and since then I have tasted every vintage, though never together as
a vertical. That was rectified last March when Guinaudeau’s indefatigable
right-hand man, Omri Ram, came to London to show Acte 1 to 8, explaining how
its raison d’être and composition
have altered over the years, predicating its reincarnation in 2018. It has been
a rather complicated, ongoing transition.

“The creation of a new vineyard
aimed at making ’Grand Vin‘ takes a lot of time,” Ram explained, gesticulating wildly as ever,
dropping the occasional “did he just say that?” expletive and barely pausing
for breath. “It's difficult to separate the
evolution of the vineyard into clear chapters. Instead, we should talk about a
curve of evolution during which there is an important change. Simplifying things, we can say that the first phase of this
project had two chapters: before Bouchet from 2009 to 2012 and after Bouchet
from 2013 to 2016 [Ram uses the local name for Cabernet Franc]. But this
project was and is in constant evolution, with changes and additions made every
year.”<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1563286444290-acte+bottles.jpg"> 

“The
project started in 2009 with Acte 1, based on the best parcels of Merlot and
the different clones of Cabernet Franc that existed at Grand Village, 326, 327
and 214.” Ram described these as “reference parcels,” ostensibly a testing
ground for their new project. “Between 2010 and 2012 we gradually eliminated
two of the three clones of Cabernet Franc after detecting an important
difference in quality, so that by 2012 the Cabernet Franc part was dominated by
the 214 clone, which gives small berries and a better skin-to-liquid ratio.” 

“In
2013 we saw the first Bouchet in Grand Village that came from a selection massale from 117 vines within Château
Lafleur. They have
made a huge difference to the quality of the wine. I see that as a real turning
point, taking it to a new level in terms of mineralité
and length. Between 2014 and 2017 this percentage [of
selection massale] has gradually
increased. New fruit comes from a parcel on the clay-limestone soils of the Plateau
de Meyney, around 6km east of Grand Village, where we plant equal percentages
of Bouchet and Merlot. We see that as the ‘real‘ vineyard for future releases. By
2018, 90% of the Bouchet came from the selection
massale instead of the 214 clone, which is why we felt it was ready to be
baptized with a new name, Les Perrières de Lafleur. More and more parcels on
the Plateau de Meyney will enter production, and it will ultimately end up as a
four- or five-hectare vineyard. The fruit of Les Perrières is vinified in our
cellar at Grand Village, which is much closer to Meyney than Lafleur. As this
is a new vineyard, we cannot be certain that whatever works for Lafleur or
Grand Village will work well for the new wine, but we find the DNA of Lafleur
in this vineyard: the silky texture, the nobility of the tannins, the length
and minerality. It is the same DNA but translated through limestone.”<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1563286467547-acte+omri+ram.jpg"> Omri Ram mid-flow during his presentation&nbsp;of Acte.

I
must confess that although I have tasted Acte many times, in the past I was
rather vague about the definition of Acte. Ram’s explanation clarified their
initial motivation: to exploit Fronsac’s limestone soils. Therefore, the vines
at Grand Village could be seen as the “launching ground” before shimmying over
to the Plateau de Meyney; ultimately this transition will mean that the entire
production will be sourced from there. But it also revealed a second
motivation: to exploit the Cabernet Franc from the selection massale of Lafleur. This provides a linkage between the
two wines, hence the rebranding that name-checks its origin. [Readers should
note that there is a G Acte 9, comprising a tiny quantity of pure Merlot because
of frost.] The 2018 vintage will see the maiden Les Perrières de Lafleur. I did
suggest to Ram that consumers might misconstrue Les Perrières de Lafleur as a cuvée originating from the titular
vineyard, like Pensées de Lafleur. Think of Les Perrières de Lafleur not as a
direct offspring of Château Lafleur, but as a scion born with the same DNA transposed
onto a different soil type.

Though Ram argues that the 2013 vintage represents
a significant turning point thanks to the introduction of the selection massale vines, in terms of the
style and attributes of the wine, this vertical suggests that in fact 2014 is
the turning point. With the exception of the 2012, I actually admire the manner
in which the early vintages have aged, and if you have some in your cellar, you
can drink them now or keep them for another five or six years. Post-2014, the
contribution of the selection massale
Bouchet suffuses the wine with tension and nobility, and certainly more
precision.

Of course, the next exercise is to compare Les
Perrières de Lafleur against Château Lafleur. Watch this space.<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines?sort%5Bdirection%5D=desc&amp;sort%5Bname%5D=vintage&amp;wf_dirty=false&amp;wf_export_fields=&amp;wf_export_format=&amp;wf_id=&amp;wf_match=all&amp;wf_model=Wine&amp;wf_name=&amp;wf_order=vintage&amp;wf_order_type=desc&amp;wf_page=1&amp;wf_per_page=25&amp;wf_submitted=true&amp;wf_type=WillFilter%3A%3AFilter&amp;wine_filter%5Barticle_id%5D=2252">See the Wines from Youngest to Oldest</a>You Might Also Enjoy <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/finally-bordeaux-2015-in-bottle-jul-2019">Finally: Bordeaux 2015 In Bottle</a>, Neal Martin, July 2019 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vinous.com/articles/finding-filhot-filhot-1935-2015-may-2019">Finding Filhot: Filhot 1935-2015</a>, Neal Martin, May 2019 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/the-margaux-paragon-rauzan-segla-1900-2015-apr-2019">The Margaux Paragon: Rauzan-Ségla 1900-2015</a>, Neal Martin, April 2019 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/an-education-la-dominique-1989-2015-apr-2019">An Education: La Dominique 1989-2015</a>, Neal Martin, April 2019 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/a-test-of-greatness-2009-bordeaux-ten-years-on-march-2019">A Test Of Greatness: 2009 Bordeaux Ten Years On</a>, Neal Martin, March&nbsp;2019<div><a target="_blank" href="https://www.vinous.com/articles/the-dbs-bordeaux-2016-in-bottle-jan-2019">The DBs: Bordeaux 2016 In Bottle</a>, Neal Martin, January 2019 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vinous.com/articles/enigma-variations-lafleur-1955-2015-nov-2018">Enigma Variations: Lafleur 1955-2015</a>, Neal Martin, November 2018</div>

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