A complex formed in situ from Er(OTf)3 and a simple commercially available norephedrine ligand promotes an unprecedented [4 + 2] cycloaddition of alpha,beta-unsaturated acid chlorides with a broad range of aromatic and heteroaromatic aldehydes by a cooperative bifunctional Lewis acid-Lewis base catalytic mode of action providing valuable delta-lactone building blocks with excellent enantioselectivity.