2012 Le Pin, Pomerol

Professional Reviews

Notes

Château Le Pin’s rise is one of Pomerol’s most improbable success stories. Founded in 1979 when Jacques Thienpont purchased a modest one-hectare plot long owned by the Loubie family, the estate began with a single stainless-steel vat and production measured in mere barrels. Today the vineyard spans roughly 2.7 hectares of sandy-gravel soils over limestone, planted almost entirely to Merlot, yielding only 600–700 cases in most vintages. A new gravity-flow winery debuted in 2011, refining its already meticulous micro-production. Early acclaim—especially Parker’s praise for the 1982—catapulted Le Pin into the top tier of global fine wine, where rarity, precision, and site expression define its enduring cult status. 95 points, Antonio Galloni for Vinous: "A compelling, totally arresting wine, the 2012 Le Pin boasts superb texture, unctuousness and pure voluptuous beauty. The 2012 is effortless in the way it opens up in the glass, with generous sweet red cherry, plum, iron, smoke and licorice. Perhaps not as rich as some previous vintages, the 2012 is nevertheless racy and quite expressive, even at this early stage." (7/2015)