Château Lafleur, a tiny 4.5-hectare Pomerol property located opposite Pétrus, has long been regarded as one of the world greatest wines. Its vineyards are situated on the gravel-rich Pomerol plateau and adjoin those of Lafleur-Pétrus. The soils here are particularly deep and are enriched by deposits of potassium and iron. Only natural fertilizers are used and yields are painfully low, even by Pomerol standards. The grand vin was one of our wines of the vintage, and along with it we are pleased to offer two of the Guinaudeau family wines from Fronsac also on the Right Bank which offer excellent value having been made by the same team from vines coming from Lafleur.
Les Perrières was founded in 2018 by Julie and Baptiste Guinaudeau and is an interpretation of the unique Bouchet de Lafleur (Cabernet Franc) and Merlot which come from a massale selection of vines from Château Lafleur, translated through the great limestone terroir of the Fronsac region. Château Grand Village, also in Fronsac, was founded in 1650 by Jacques Verdery, a direct ancestor of the Guinaudeaus. This surface is divided between 20 hectares of vineyard positioned on a clay-limestone plateau and gentle slopes, and 30 hectares of woods and meadows. It is increasingly being replanted or grafted over to vine genetics from Lafleur, and lavished with the same viticultural attention to detail, now thought of as a “village level" Lafleur. At less than $29 per bottle it's an absolute steal and one of our Over-Achievers this vintage.
We are also excited to announce the release of the superb 2022 Château La Gaffelière, the premier cru Saint-Emilion, situated on the slope just beneath the town. The Gaffelière was simply sublime when we tasted it in April, wildly aromatic with exotic species and violettes, very powerful, yet elegant and velvety. This is a St-Emilion you can hang your hat on! La Gaffelière, which belongs to the Counts of Malet Roquefort, is on a very ancient vineyard site, dating back to the 11th Century and before. It has been on great form in the last decade, qualifying for Premier Grand Cru Classé B status. The 2022 was simply glorious when we tasted it from barrel - it is unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage! And the second wine, Clos La Gaffeliere, is a excellent value this vintage at less than $25/bottle.
Also released this morning, the "2022 Lagrange is brilliant, ranking alongside the 2020, 2019 and 2016 as one of this over-performing estate's finest recent vintages," according to William Kelley of the Wine Advocate. Château Lagrange is one of the best properties in Saint-Julien, thanks to 30 years of investment and nurturing from the Suntory Group. Once one of the largest estates, owned by the Baron de Brane in the eighteenth Century, it had fallen into disrepair, and the chateau almost burned down in the 1950s. Suntory doubled the vineyard area, and replanted all the vines, bringing the estate back to the prestigious level its ideal location deserves. Their sloping vineyards are the highest in Saint-Julien, neighboring those of Gruaud Larose and Branaire Ducru.
Don't miss this opportunity to secure your stock at the opening prices.
Our 2022 Bordeaux Vintage Report is now available, and as always, our 2022 Futures Landing Page is updated with the new releases each day, and includes our Wines of the Vintage, Standout Mid-Range Wines, Over-Achievers and Value Drinkers. We'll continue sending offers on the most compelling wines as they are released...stay tuned!
"2022 is certainly the greatest overall vintage I have ever tasted." - Andy Lench of Bordeaux Wine Locators on his 37th vintage tasted en primeur.
"This is the 40th year I have tasted barrel samples in Bordeaux, but I have never come across anything like the 2022 vintage. It was one of the hottest and driest growing seasons in the history of France’s most famous wine region, yet it produced thousands of opulent and structured but still fresh and balanced wines. They are exciting...it was a joyous and fascinating experience to taste so many special wines. And there was high quality from top to bottom. The 2022 vintage really is something unique." - James Suckling
2022 Lafleur (Pomerol)
GVWM Wine of the Vintage
99-100 DE / 98-100 JA / 98-99 JS / 97-99 WA / 97-99 VM / 96-98+ WI
96-98 JD
The 2022 Lafleur was picked from 3 September with the early Merlot and then over the next two weeks. It underwent double sorting in the vineyard and then at reception, aged in 25% new oak. This is bestowed a compelling bouquet, a mixture of red and black fruit, iodine and incense, beautifully defined, maybe more sensual than recent vintages. The palate is blessed with unerring symmetry, a fine thread of acidity, a graphite seam from start to finish and a constant sapidity. Extremely precise and ineffably persistent, this is an intellectual and delicious Lafleur - a lethal combination. Among the best that Baptiste and Julie Guinaudeau have conjured in recent years and that's a very impressive canon of work. -Neal Martin, Vinous Media
$1,150.00 ea. 750ml | Future | BUY NOW*
*2022 Lafleur is available by the bottle with the purchase of 2 bottles of 2022 Grand Village (below). Place an order for Grand Village and indicate your request for Lafleur in the order notes, or contact us to order.
See our full list of Lafleur >
2022 Grand Village Rouge (Bordeaux Superieur)
GVWM Over-Achiever & Value Drinker
93-95 JD / 93-94 JS / 92-94 WA / 92 DE / 91-93 VM
Baptiste Guinaudeau and his team have produced a beautifully pure, perfumed 2022 Grand Village that bursts with aromas of licorice, graphite, blackberries, pencil shaving, iris and fresh mint. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and fleshy, this outstanding wine is perfectly balanced on the palate with velvety tannins and a bright, saline finish. This is one of the very best Grand Villages produced to date, and it benefits from the sort of careful winemaking normally reserved for cru classé wines. It’s a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, although for the latter grape the Guinaudeau family prefers the local name of Bouchet.- Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate
$28.99 ea. 750ml | Future | BUY NOW
See our full list of Grand Village >
2022 Les Perrieres de Lafleur (Bordeaux Superieur)
95 JA / 94-96 JD / 94-96 WA / 94-95 JS / 93-95 WI / 93 DE / 92-94 VM
The 2022 Les Perrières de Lafleur shows just how adapted this higher-altitude site on the plateau of Fronsac is to warmer vintages. Wafting from the glass with aromas of mulberries and raspberries, sweet spices and rose petals, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with racy acids and a taut, mineral profile. It's another brilliant effort from this visionary project. -William Kelley, Wine Advocate
$95.00 ea. 750ml | Future | BUY NOW
See our full list of Perrieres de Lafleur >
2022 La Gaffeliere (Saint Emilion)
98-100 VM / 96-98+ WI / 96-97 JS / 96 JA / 96 DE / 94-96+ JD
The 2022 La Gaffelière is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty. Refined, sculpted and wonderfully precise, La Gaffelière simply has it all. Hints of lavender, mint, blood orange, spice and black cherry fruit all race across the glass. Clean mineral notes and fine tannins support the finish. The delineation here is simply breathtaking. La Gaffelière is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc. Élevage is expected to be 19 months in 50% new oak and 50% neutral barrels. The 2022 is another exceptional wine from the Malet Roquefort family. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media
$79.09 ea. 750ml | Future | BUY NOW
See our full list of La Gaffeliere >
2022 Clos La Gaffeliere (Saint Emilion)
94 JA / 92 DE
Dark and ripe on the nose, tangy and fresh, a lovely clean, crisp aspect to the strawberry, red cherry and creamy vanilla blueberries giving freshness and cool minerality. Well delivered, has a style about this with definition and detail and above all really appealing acidity that gives lift and a lot of life. Should round out nicely offering lots of easy drinking appeal and unfussy enjoyment. 3.5pH. 3.7 g/L total acidity. Ageing for 12 months, 50% new barrels, 50% steel. Harvest September 6 - September 28. HVE3 certified. - Georgina Hindle, Decanter
$24.59 ea. 750ml | Future | BUY NOW
See our full list of Clos La Gaffeliere >
2022 Lagrange (Saint Julien)
95-97 VM / 96 DE / 96 JA / 96 DE / 94-96+ WA / 94-96 WI / 94-95 JS
91-94 JD
Juicy and intensely ripe in terms of texture - tannins are fleshy but also really cool giving this a push-pull of bright acidity and actually quite serious mineral elements of flint and liquorice. Such an appealing weight in the mouth, layered and structured with expressive fruit and lively juiciness all combining to a stylish and inviting whole. So much going on but managed with finesse and elegance. A clear success in 2022. Harvest 8-30 September. Ageing 21 months in French oak, 60% new. Tasted twice. - Georgina Hindle, Decanter
$57.29 ea. 750ml | Future | BUY NOW
See our full list of Lagrange >
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2% discount for orders placed with a wire or personal check.*
Please click here to send us your order via our contact page, or call 360.350.4896 and we will be glad to assist you. (*Minimum order of $1000 for domestic wire, or $5000 for international wire. No minimum for personal check. For wines eligible for 5% case/9L discounts, maximum discount is 5%.)
Interested in a wine not on our website, or in placing a non-committed pre-order for particular 2022 Bordeaux? Click here to send us your list and we will advise as soon as the wines are available.
BOTTLING CHARGES FOR OTHER FORMATS Please note: Most Chateaux will be able to bottle your orders in the below formats. Click here or call +360.350.4896 if you are interested in any of the following options and they are not listed on our website:
375 ML - 12 x 750ml price + $40.00 per case (min. order of 12 x 375ml)
1.5 L - 12 x 750ml price + $36 per case (min. order of 6 x 1.5L)
3.0 L - 4 x 750ml price + $70 each | 6.0 L - 8 x 750ml price + $110 each
9.0 L - 12 x 750ml price + $180 each | 12.0 L - 16 x 750ml price + $210 each
15.0 L - 24 x 750ml price + $275 each | 18.0 L - 20 x 750ml price + $325 each
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Grand Vin Wine Merchants · 2950 32nd Ave SW · Suite A · Tumwater, Washington 98512 · United States (360) 350-4896
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