World-class White Wine: The Count Of Lafon Challenge Romanée-Conti

Comtes Lafon Montachet - World-class White Wine

Interest in the world's best white wines is increasing and each region has its own gems. In the case of Corton Charlemagne and Meursault, the king and queen are named Coche-Dury and Leroy respectively. On the other hand, if we turn to the heart of white wine, the legendary Montrachet field, which extends over the municipalities of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet, and which is surrounded by the world's best Grand Cru fields, there are several contenders to the throne. After all, Le Montrachet, which barely measures 8 hectares of land, is also the origin of the world's most expensive white wines, and thus nothing comes close to this vinous cornerstone. Right after the two major producers, Leflaive and Romanée-Conti, we find side by side with Ramonet, Domaine des Comtes Lafon, which, like Ramonet, also has great investment potential and the ability to make one of the world's most sought after Montrachers - without a price tag of € 5,000 and € 10,000, as is the case for a Montrachet from Domaine Leflaive and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Domaine des Comtes Lafon thus makes world-class Montrachet, and is recognized for it, but at a fraction of the cost of the aforementioned - and this is exciting from a wine-investor perspective.

Grand Cru White Wine: Five Times As Rare!

Speaking of the world's best burgundy wines, wines from the aforementioned fields are implicitly mentioned. In total, less than 2 million bottles of Burgundy Grand Cru wine are produced here each year, corresponding to 0.025% of the total French wine production (!), Which is a total of 7.5 billion bottles of wine per year. Out of the 2 million bottles of Burgundy Grand Cru, white wines make up a fifth. With a little math, it makes an annual output of 400,000 bottles. The white Grand Cru Burgundy is thus rarer than most people think even among the most expensive wines in the world. And it comes with high quality and solid storage potential.

Unique White Wine Since 1918

Domaine des Comtes Lafon is one of many institutions in Burgundy, with a history that the wine nerd can benefit from diving into on his own, as it is as rich and attractive as the wines of the domain.

Comtes Lafon has been a name for Montrachet since 1918 when the domain's founder, Jules Joseph Barthélémy Lafon (1864 - 1940), acquired through a marriage, a large portfolio of vineyards and parcels - including the parcel of Montrachet.

The Hyper Rare Montrachet - Half The Production Compare To DRC

Montrachet is generally considered superior to its three Grand Cru-Montrachet neighbors. Neighbors, all bearing the name Montrachet, but all with a prefix^*. However the Montrachet field is the bigbrother in every aspect. Looking at the producers present at Montrachet, you are also not in doubt. Here, some of the world's greatest producers produce side by side - Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC), Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Domaine Joseph Drouhin and Domaine Leflaive, just to mention a few of the heavyweights.

The total area of ​​Montrachet extends over approx. 7.8 ha which roughly corresponds to a total production of around 55,000 bottles in a normal vintage. Of this amount, Montrachet's ultimate top name, DRC, stands for just about 3,000 bottles. This is in itself a quantity so limited that it is far from meeting the demand, and often dictates a price of more than € 5,000 per bottle. However, Comte's Lafons Montrachet seems extraordinarily rare with a total production of just 1,500 bottles in a normal vintage! You now have the chance to take part in this extremely limited amount.

* Bâtard-Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet.

Nobody Makes The DRC Ashamed, But…

The quality of Lafons Montrachet is undeniable and the critics' scores are all high-end. Furthermore vintage 2017 that this investment tip addresses are among the best of the last 10 vintages. Year 2017 scores 96.3 points^*across three of the most important critics which is only surpassed by vintage 2010 and 2018, and we will probably have to go back to vintage 2002 to find a Montrachet at this level.

To put the quality of Lafons Montrachet in perspective, it is obvious to compare with “Goliath”, DRC's Montrachet, though Lafon is far from a “David” in this battle. Vintage 2015 is the most comparable vintage of the two wines, which at the same time got points by both Burghound, Wine Advocate and Vinous and they are all equal. Both wines score an average of 95.7 points. Due to the fact that Lafon, alone, is a major white wine producer, that the production of Lafons Montrachet is only half that of DRCs and that DRCs Montrachet is approximately four times more expensive, Lafons Montrachet comes with both a strong investment potential and a huge value-for-money!

* Average scores across Burghound, Wine Advocate and Vinous (barrel scores)

No 2016 Lafon Montrachet - And Yet…

Burgundy in 2016 was hit by severe spring frost, which had major consequences for many of the region's winemakers. One of the places most severely affected was the Montrachet field, which more or less destroyed the entire harvest. However, a scant amount of usable grapes could be rescued across the entire field and seven of the field's most prominent producers, including Comtes Lafon, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Domaine Leflaive, joined together to fill just two casks that together make up a very special joint vintage 2016 Montrachet. A producer like Lafon could hardly wish for a better patch on the wound than the definitive acknowledgment of their quality, with an official collaboration with Romanée-Conti, Leflaive and Ramonet.

These wines never came on sale in the open market, and are initially intended for internal use, charity and special customers, but the wine medium Decanter reports that the wines were traded on the open market for around € 5,500 a year per bottle immediately after bottling, while they are estimated to be closer to sale for € + 10,000 today, if available.

Not only is this story interesting in itself, it also increases the investment potential of the 2017 Lafon Montrachet. With such a small annual supply (only 1,500 bottles), that naturally means a lot when skipping a vintage. This was forced with the vintage 2016 and the vacancy that this has left has increased the demand for both the vintage 2017 and 2018, which is also of high quality. This just makes ground for further demand for this top white wine.

RareWine Invest’s Opinion

Domaine des Comtes Lafon fulfills a host of valuable criterias that have historically characterized some of the strongest investment wines. Comtes Lafon is a unique and highly respected top producer from one of the world's most exclusive wine regions. Their top wine, Montrachet, is among the best and most sought after from the field of the same name. This is basically white wine from the absolute world elite, but at a fraction of the price, for the same wine from, for example, Domaine de la Romnaée-Conti and Domaine Leflaive. Add to this that Lafon only produces approximately 1,500 bottles of Montrachet per year and that precise vintage 2017 is one of the best in the last 10 vintages and you really have a wine with a strong potential.

At the same time, the gaping Montrachet gap in the market from the failing vintage 2016 makes Montrachet as a whole even more interesting than it would otherwise be - and this is especially true for Lafons Montrachet.

The Lafon Montrachet Grand Cru is one of the best and most exclusive white wines in the world and you believe in the potential of wine of this caliber and the growing potential of white wine, this is the place to be.