Château Lafleur 2021 was released in the Bordeaux en primeur campaign this morning (27 May) at the equivalent of £6,508 (12x75cl in bond), according to Liv-ex.
This sought-after Pomerol label, produced from a vineyard of just 4.5 hectares, is often sold in smaller quantities and sometimes only on allocation.
UK merchant Justerini & Brooks was offering three-bottle cases of Lafleur 2021 for £1,627 in bond at the time of writing.
Decanter’s Georgie Hindle gave Lafleur 2021 97 points, naming it her top Pomerol wine in an uneven Bordeaux vintage.
‘An exceptional success in 2021 and surely one of the best wines of the vintage,’ she said in her Lafleur tasting note, which formed part of her in-depth verdict on Bordeaux 2021 en primeur wines.
Both Liv-ex and analyst group Wine Lister said Lafleur 2021 represents good value for those lucky enough to get hold of an allocation.
Liv-ex said the UK release price was up by 3% versus the 2020-vintage debut offer, but added Lafleur 2020 has nearly doubled in price since en primeur.
Lafleur has seen strong momentum on the fine wine market in recent years and it has developed a reputation for significant price increases on the secondary market following release.
Wine Lister said, ‘Due to Lafleur’s consistent and impressive price performance post-release, the 2021 comes to market comfortably under what little stock remains of the last six vintages.’
There was no 2020 left on the market and the 2019 vintage has more than doubled in price since release, it added.
More high-profile wines have made their debuts in the Bordeaux 2021 en primeur campaign in the past week, including Châteaux Angélus and Palmer.
Many big names are still to release their wines. Merchants have generally been expecting a smaller campaign, due in part to the trickier nature of the vintage, but several estates have nevertheless found demand.
Château Palmer 2021, another success story with 96 points, was released at £2,844 (12x75cl in bond) in the UK.
Matthew O’Connell, CEO of the LiveTrade platform at Bordeaux Index, told Decanter on Tuesday (24 May), ‘This is a name with good momentum at present (aided by their 2018) and that has seen good buying this morning for the en primeur release.’
