Pomerol

Bordeaux · France · Wine Auction Prices

Pomerol is the smallest and most intimate of Bordeaux's great appellations — just 800 hectares with no official classification — yet it produces two of the most expensive wines in the world: Pétrus and Le Pin. The plateau of Pomerol sits on a bed of iron-rich blue clay (crasse de fer or buttonhole clay) that gives Merlot unparalleled weight, concentration, and complexity. Château Pétrus, at the heart of this plateau, farms just 11.4 hectares entirely on blue clay with bush vines averaging 45 years old. Production is roughly 30,000 bottles per year — a fifth of the output of Château Mouton Rothschild — creating natural scarcity that underpins its extraordinary auction prices. Le Pin, established by Jacques Thienpont in 1979 on just 2 hectares, consistently achieves prices per bottle that rival or exceed Pétrus, making it arguably the most valuable wine in the world by scarcity-adjusted price. Vieux Château Certan, La Conseillante, and L'Évangile represent the wider tier of exceptional Pomerol estates that form the backbone of this appellation at auction.