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A very attractive Le Pin at 13.9% alcohol, this famed 100% Merlot wine is all about sweet juicy unctuous black cherry fruits. Spectacular and sensual. Not a powerhouse, but the touch of grainy tannins on the finish provide added dimension and complexity at the end. Everything a good wine should be.
A very attractive Le Pin at 13.9% alcohol, this famed 100% Merlot wine is all about sweet juicy unctuous black cherry fruits. Spectacular and sensual. Not a powerhouse, but the touch of grainy tannins on the finish provide added dimension and complexity at the end. Everything a good wine should be.
The 2017 Le Pin, which has 100% new oak as usual, was cropped at 32hl/ha with 13.9° alcohol. It has a perfumed bouquet with dark cherries, a touch of blue fruit, cold stone and a hint of incense. This is more opulent than the Vieux-Château-Certan, but with a bit more sensuality if not quite the same degree of complexity. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe tannin, very smooth in texture with red fruit laced with sea salt and a suggestion of iodine. There is certainly good backbone to this Le Pin, although it is so silky towards the finish that it is barely tangible. A more backward Le Pin at the moment compared to the last three vintages but I am fascinated to see how this ages. Tasted twice and showing a little more structure in the second showing. Jacques Thienpont told me that around 500 cases will be produced. 2023 - 2045
Totally sensual and vivid in the glass, the 2017 Le Pin is gorgeous today. Silky tannins and lifted aromatics add finesse to the sumptuous fruit as the 2017 gradually unfurls in the glass. The sweet red cherry, tobacco, mint and white pepper notes are beautifully delineated. Above all else, though, Le Pin impresses for its impeccable balance and total sense of harmony. Readers who don't want to splurge on Le Pin should seriously consider Jacques Thienpont's Saint-Émilion L'If, which, I believe, has all the potential to equal or surpass Le Pin in the future.
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Le Pin (100% Merlot) is a little reticent to begin, opening out to crushed black berries, warm black plums and wild blueberries with touches of forest floor, violets, star anise and cast iron pan with a waft of cigar box. Medium to full-bodied, it has a sensuous frame of very ripe, silken tannins and seamless freshness, flaunting a very elegant core of perfumed fruit and finishing with many, many mineral layers.
A squared and properly focused 2017 with chocolate, dark berries and silky tannins that envelop the palate. A Burgundian sensibility to this with a very fine texture of acidity and tannins that back up the elegant and supple fruit. A clarity and beauty to the wine.
6000-7000 bottles will be produced. This is a very fresh and bright Le Pin because July and August were not too hot. This has given rise to an elegant Le Pin. Great depth on the nose, but not that intense on the palate, it is impossible to compare the weather conditions in 2017 to any other vintage and so there is a unique shape and size to this wine. Fascinating, melodic and musical, beautiful and honed, this is a very delicate and resonant Le Pin and I like it very much indeed.
Deep crimson. Super-fragrant, almost floral, with very fine fruit and some toasty oak. So moreish, sweet-fruited and very silky already. Gorgeously silky and long. Almost a touch of burgundy to the sweet red fruit on the finish. (JH) Drink 2025-2040
The small sub-region of Pomerol is situated north-east of the industrious city of Libourne. Pomerol's soils are predominately iron-rich clay with a smattering of gravel that produce wines with extraordinary power and depth. As a result of this clay-dominance, it has the highest percentage of Merlot planted in all of Bordeaux. Certain châteaux are produced exclusively from this grape, but most incorporate smaller quantities of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc as well. Despite its hefty (if not exclusive) proportion of Merlot, many people think of wines from this region as separate entities. As one wine aficionado stated recently, "It's not Merlot. It's Pomerol." Despite the region's small size, Pomerol contains some of the world's most sought after (and expensive) wines including Pétrus, Le Pin, Lafleur, l'Evangile and Vieux Château Certan. Unlike other Bordelais subregions, there is no system of classification. The châteaux are traded on reputation alone.
