TIME TO BUY?
2022 Château Lafleur - a newly inked in 100 pointer
A Lafleur for the ages.
William Kelley, robertparker.com, March 2025
2022 Château Lafleur
£2,350 per 3 bottle case in bond
This is a ‘Time to Buy?’ offer with a difference….we won’t be showing you a graph with a dramatic fall from a peak. Instead, we’ll explain the details of a hugely impressive young wine that has received incredible reviews, and yet a wine where the price has remained incredibly static, thereby presenting an opportunity to forward-thinking buyers.
Château Lafleur in Pomerol is undoubtedly one of the gems of Bordeaux, and its current run of form has placed it among the handful of wines at the pinnacle of Bordeaux production. In fact, in the last six vintages to be released, it has arguably produced one of the two or three leading wines of the vintage.
In this market, various wines are being praised and are receiving exceptional scores, yet their prices are not moving as would surely have been the case in the fine wine market pre-2023.
William Kelley of robertparker.com saw fit to give Lafleur 2022 a 100-point score this very month and yet we have still been able to buy at a very sharp level and to offer on at the best price in the UK market.
Given the rarity and the plaudits, it is striking to come across stock to offer at this level. On release, back in 2023, it was just under £2,000 per 3 en primeur and we have a parcel of stock to offer at £2,350 per 3 bottle case in bond.
A brief recap on Lafleur:
- It regularly rivals or exceeds the quality of Petrus and Le Pin in the last ten vintages as judged by critics’ scores, making it one of the handful of finest wines made in Bordeaux today.
- Production is tiny – from a 4.5-hectare vineyard, which neighbours Petrus, just 1,000 cases are produced per annum.
- It is a unique, distinctly different style of Pomerol – largely Cabernet Franc on gravel as opposed to the norm for Pomerol of Merlot on clay. 60% of the blend is invariably Cabernet Franc.
- Many vintages are reference points for Bordeaux; the 1982 is one of the best ever made in the region and, if it could be found, would be circa £35,000 per 6 bottle case subject to provenance etc.
- Lafleur is a fraction of the price of Petrus or Le Pin. I am offering the 2022 Lafleur at £2,350 per 3, whereas Petrus in the very same year would be £11,250/3 and Le Pin is £6,900/3.
- Critics’ reviews place it alongside the 2019 as the nearest point of reference and yet the market for the 2019, another young vintage, starts at just under £3,000 per 3 in bond. The 2010, another great vintage for the estate is just under £3,500 per 3 bottle case, even after having fallen in the general market correction.
Please see the recent review from William Kelley, as well as that of Neal Martin from January, below. It is worth adding that a whole host of other critics have scored it just as highly (James Suckling 98-99, Antonio Galloni 99, Lisa Perrotti-Brown 96-98, Jean-Marc Quarin 100, Jeff Leve 98-100 and this list goes on).
2022 Château Lafleur
£2,350 per 3 bottle case in bond
100 points, William Kelley, robertparker.com (March 2025)
The 2022 Lafleur has turned out even better in bottle than I anticipated. Wafting from the glass with exotic aromas of mulberries, potpourri, iris, blood orange and incense, it's full-bodied, dense and layered, with a deep and multidimensional core of sweet, succulent fruit underpinned by velvety tannins, concluding with a long, expansive, rose-inflected finish. Élevage has brought a sense of harmony and classicism to the volume and richness that were already apparent en primeur, delivering a Lafleur for the ages. Drink 2030-2060
98 points, Neal Martin, vinous.com (January 2025)
The 2022 Lafleur was a deeply impressive Pomerol when tasted from barrel. As Baptiste Guinaudeau mentioned, the 2022 vintage was driven by energy and not dominated by the sun, which differentiates it from the 2019 or 2020. The 2022 possesses incredible purity on the nose, with layers of black fruit, graphite and just a hint of dark chocolate. The palate is medium-bodied and quite linear in style, with firm tannins, strong pencil box notes and a sharp and precise finish. It lingers temptingly in the mouth, yet at the same time you know this will need many years to reach its peak. Awesome. Drink 2032-2075
This is an incredibly long-lived wine, a fact to which the 1982 stands testament. Even in turbulent times, it is hard to envisage that wines of exceptional quality and exceptional rarity will not be sought after in a recovering market. Quality will out.
Please let us know of your interest.
Simon
simon.larkin@atlasfinewines.com