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Sample bottle image of Lafleur 2025; the wine is still in-barrel.
(Image credit: TokioMarineLife / iStock via Getty Images Plus)

lafleur 2025, vin de france, sample

(Image credit: Guinaudeau family / Lafleur)

Château Lafleur 2025 was offered by UK merchant Justerini & Brooks at around £1,800 per three bottles in bond (IB) on Friday 15 May.

Rated 97 points by Decanter’s Georgie Hindle, Lafleur 2025 represents the first vintage under the generic ‘Vin de France’ label.

Owner the Guinaudeau family announced last year that it was taking the producer out of the Pomerol and Bordeaux appellations, in order to have more flexibility to meet climate change-related challenges in the vineyards.

‘Bravo’ said Hindle of the Lafleur 2025 in-barrel. ‘A quietly compelling wine from Lafleur this year.’

Lafleur is highly sought-after and has a reputation for stable release pricing – even if vintages can subsequently soar on the secondary market.

At £1,800 per 3x75cl IB, the 2025 wine looks a shade more expensive than the 2024 vintage release (reported at £3,530 per 6x75cl IB).

Allocation only

Getting hold of it could be a challenge. Justerini & Brooks said, ‘Production is even smaller than usual in 2025, as such, everything is offered subject to our allocation process.’

However, other 2025-vintage releases from the Lafleur stable include Le Grand Village, also now a Vin de France and offered at £89 per 6x75cl IB.

‘I so often think of this as one of Bordeaux's best value wines and it's brilliant in 2025,’ said Decanter’s Hindle, rating the wine at 93pts.

Other releases included Lafleur second wine Les Pensées 2025 (95pts), offered at £400 (3x75cl IB).

A slow-burning early campaign but 'bargains' to be found...

More Bordeaux 2025 wines were released en primeur this week, including St-Emilion’s Cheval Blanc, as well as Duhart-Milon, Domaine de Chevalier and La Lagune.

Many big hitters kept their powder dry in the first fortnight of the campaign, though; perhaps gauging the mood.

While critical appraisal for Bordeaux 2025 points to a highly promising vintage maturing châteaux barrel cellars, the vintage arrives to an ongoing challenging wine market – following a period of falling fine wine prices – and macroeconomic uncertainty.

Prices have nudged upwards on several 2025 releases so far, yet some still compare favourably against en primeur pricing over the past decade.

Releases snapshot

UK merchant Farr Vintners offered Domaine de Chevalier 2025 red (94-95pts, Decanter) at £216 per 6x75cl in bond (IB), for example, adding, ‘slightly up on last year but apart from that, the lowest price here since the 2014’.

At current prices, however, some recent back-vintages were available for less, according to Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.

Haut-Médoc third growth Château La Lagune 2025 (94pts) was €21 per bottle ex-négociant and £259 per 12 bottles (IB).

That's up slightly year-on-year but also lower than every other campaign since at least the 2008 vintage, showed Liv-ex data, noting the 2025 was also one of the less expensive recent La Lagune wines at current market prices.

Duhart-Milon 2025 debuted this week after receiving a 95-point rating from Hindle, who described the wine as 'brilliant' this vintage.

It was €48 per bottle ex-négociant, up slightly on 2024 and matching the 2019-vintage release price, and £588 per 12x75cl IB in the UK (Source: Liv-ex).

Corney & Barrow (C&B) said, 'We were very keen on the quality of Duhart in 2025 but sadly the lower market prices of older equivalent-quality vintages make it a pass, unless you are a die-hard Duhart enthusiast.'

The merchant highlighted several ‘bargains’ among early releases, including Margaux-appellation Château Angludet 2025 (94pts, Decanter) at £120 per 6x75cl IB.

‘Holding their price on the 2024 release, they are to be commended,’ it said.

Sales so far

It remains too early to properly assess sales in 2025, although there have been a few highlights.

Thomas Parker MW at Farr Vintners previously said the merchant sold a decent volume of Batailley, while Miles Davis, of Vinum Fine Wines, told Decanter that the group sold more Pontet-Canet 2025 than expected.

Will Hargrove, C&B's head of fine wine, said the merchant’s offers on Ets JP Moueix wines and Mitjavile (including Tertre Roteboeuf) were ‘going down well’ with customers.

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Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.