- Château Lafleur 2023 has been released at £7,240 per 12×75.
- ‘A wine for those who like cryptic crosswords and Pomerol’, said Neal Martin who rated it 97-99 points.
- Buyers have several options among back vintages for those unable to secure an allocation.
As part of this year’s Bordeaux En Primeur campaign, Château Lafleur 2023 has been released at €610 per bottle ex-négociant, flat on the 2022 release.
It is coming to market with a recommended retail price of £7,240 per 12×75, an 2.7% decrease on the 2022’s opening price (£7,440 a case).
It was once again noted in the release that the aim of the Château is to be transparent and give the market confidence with a stable pricing model. In Euro terms, prices are flat on last year, which results in small discounts in Sterling terms.
Critical response
Neal Martin (Vinous) awarded the wine a barrel range of 97-99, highlighting the ‘cerebral’ nature of the wine – that it is ‘a wine for those who like cryptic crosswords and Pomerol’.
Antonio Galloni (Vinous) believes the 2023 is ‘a bit light relative to more recent years’, scoring the wine 93-96.
Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux) praises the ‘hidden depths that show through the cocoa bean and espresso as it opens up’ and gave the wine 98 points.
William Kelley (The Wine Advocate) sees potential perfection in the wine, scoring it 98-100 points. The critic comments that ‘the 2023 Lafleur is one of a small number of contenders for the title of wine of the vintage, and it’s one 2023 that appears to surpass its 2022 counterpart’.
We will be adding all scores to the critics grid as they are released here. Sign up for release alerts to keep up to date.
Pricing analysis
According to the Liv-ex Fair Value methodology, Château Lafleur Market Prices are 78.7% correlated with Neal Martin scores, Liv-ex’s members’ most-trusted critic. As the chart below shows, today’s release falls comfortably below the Fair Value line. While the 2023 offers reasonable value to those who can secure an allocation, there are also options in back-vintages.
The 2022 vintage, receiving a 97-99 point barrel score from Martin, falls below the Fair Value line and may be of interest to buyers.
The 2014 vintage benefits from additional time in bottle and is available at a 39.2% discount to today’s release may also be of interest to buyers. The 2017 vintage, available at a slight discount to the 2023, could also present reasonable value. Since its opening release at £5,340, its Market Price has increased by 29.2%.
Use our ready-made list to easily spot opportunities in back-vintages of Château Lafleur and other Right-Bank wines.
Other releases
Château Lafleur’s second label, Pensées de Lafleur 2023, has also been released at €130 per bottle ex-négociant. Other releases include Les Perrieres 2023 at €51.50 per bottle ex-négociant, as well as Château Grand Village 2023 at €13 per bottle ex-négociant. All prices are flat on 2022.
Our Bordeaux En Primeur 2023 page contains everything you need to know about this year’s campaign. You can also sign up for our daily En Primeur email alerts using the form below.
Liv-ex analysis is drawn from the world’s most comprehensive database of fine wine prices. The data reflects the real time activity of Liv-ex’s 620+ merchant members from across the globe. Together they represent the largest pool of liquidity in the world – currently £100m of bids and offers across 20,000 wines.
