St. Estephe is home to storied left bank chateaux that were ranked in the Classification of 1855, so new domaines are rare. Henry Negrier spent the first half of his career working at other local chateaux; but thirty years ago he stumbled upon an unusual opportunity to buy his own St-Estephe vines, and decided to bet on himself. The new creation, Fleuron de Liot, has won acclaim from blind-tasting panels and Ansonia readers alike.
When we visited last spring, Negrier told us that 2022 was unequivocally the best vintage in the domaine’s 30 year history. He attributes this partly to the very dry growing season, which also featured damaging hail early, at the cost of 40% of the crop. The result: tiny grapes and highly concentrated must.
Indeed, the Fleuron de Liot 2022 – a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon – is utterly delicious and should age very well. Right now this well-balanced wine is inky and dark, showing black cherry and cassis fruit. There is excellent density: the fine tannins coat the mouth and persist on the palate.
We usually counsel patience with the Fleuron de Liot, but to our surprise this was a hit at a December warehouse tasting, and more than a dozen customers walked out with some in their boxes. (If you open it now, decant for 1-2 hours.) Don’t let the bargain pricing fool you; this is serious, impressive left-bank Bordeaux.
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Fleuron de Liot St-Estephe 2022
bottle price: $28
