Collection: Château L’If: 2012–2021

We are pleased to share a special opportunity to acquire stock of Château L’If, the refined Saint-Emilion counterpart to Le Pin.

In 2010, Jacques Thienpont acquired a small 5-hectare vineyard formerly named Château Haut-Plantey on the Saint-Emilion plateau, near Troplong-Mondot. Jacques named the property L’If (French for the yew tree located on the property), a nod to the family’s Le Pin (“pine tree”) estate in Pomerol. Cyrille, his cousin, leads the estate and the winemaking, which now spans 8 hectares planted with approximately 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc on limestone-clay soils.

The estate has very small production (~10,000 bottles annually), making each release quite exclusive.

All vintages from 2012 (first vintage under L’If) through 2021 are available in NYC (excluding 2013 and 2017), offering a rare chance to explore the full evolution of the estate’s style from its early years to its current maturity.

Vintage Highlights

2012 L’If
The first fully realized expression of the estate, showing purity, aromatic finesse, and precision. Neal Martin (Vinous) calls it “a refined, classically-proportioned Saint-Émilion with focus and poise.”

This is a beautifully complete early vintage entering its drinking window now through 2032.

2019 L’If
A brilliant benchmark vintage, one especially admired by Cyrille Thienpont himself. William Kelley (Wine Advocate, 97 pts) hails it as “a wine of striking purity and precision – the most complete L’If to date.”

A true collector’s essential, built to evolve gracefully over the next two decades.