“The best Pomerol estate you’ve never heard of… a tiny estate slap bang in the middle of Petrus, Lafleur & Lafleur-Petrus but hardly known.” – Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

Here’s the deal. Even if you HAD the $350 to splurge on this, you can’t find one.

Except here. Except today. Except now. Except with HALF OFF?!

Even for the worst vintages, you’d be paying more than this. There IS a Petrus neighbor you can afford. And Lafleur. Yes, that cool cat who not only left the Pomerol appellation but Bordeaux too, declassifying all the way down to the ‘Vin de France’ table wine category, because they were fed up with appellation politics, and because with an address and reputation like that, you can.

Lafleur Saint-Jean is so tiny that they don’t have to worry about anything like that, or selling every single bottle, every vintage, at full prices. The vineyard comprises a mere 3 acres of low-yielding old vines that, in an abundant harvest, produce maybe a dozen barrels. That’s IT. Like they make a lot more Le Pin!

So how did we get our hands on some for this spectacular Friday Bordeaux Store Takeover? Well, we’re Spies, and we knew someone who knew someone who owed us a favor. Who, in turn, owed YOU a favor granted as access to the most strictly allocated hidden gem in Pomerol.

In all honesty, here’s the transmission we received from our man in Bordeaux on that fateful morning: “Yesterday afternoon, under the quiet sun of Saint-Émilion, we laid my grandfather to rest. It was a moment of stillness. A goodbye. And yet, like all true missions, what followed wasn’t coincidence, it was destiny. After the ceremony, a man approached. A friend of my grandfather. His presence discreet, his name unmistakable: François Janoueix. You may not know him. But Bordeaux does. For over 200 years, his family has shaped the Right Bank: quietly, powerfully, permanently. We spoke over Champagne, the sun warming the gravel. I knew he owned Château Romer in Sauternes, a wine you recently secured. But then came the whisper: ‘I also own 1.2 hectares in Pomerol… between Pétrus and Château Lafleur.’ Château Lafleur Saint Jean. Here we are. This isn’t just a vineyard. This is the most sacred corridor of land in Pomerol. An area measured not in hectares, but in heartbeats. And this wine, hidden from the market, protected for decades, is extraordinary. I told François about you. About Wine Spies. About our oath: no damage, no listings, no shortcuts. He smiled. Poured a final glass. And made the impossible… possible.”

Except for Inside Bordeaux’s Jane Anson praising the style through the previous vintage with “the finesse and power of Pomerol in a single glass, it holds on, invites you in, keeps you interested…” there’s no press, no points, no marketing dollars. Just a breathtaking 2019 Pomerol with all the right neighbors that have the same exact vintage selling in the $1,500-$7,000 a bottle range, no joke… this is as close to that terroir as you’ll ever get at $175. Buy some, or don’t.

Time is fleeting.