Château Le Pin 2000
Chateau Le Pin, or simply Le Pin, is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Pomerol. The unusually small estate is located on the Right Bank of France's Gironde estuary in the commune of Pomerol near the hamlet of Catusseau, Chateau Le Pin is frequently one of the world's most expensive red wines.
Madame Laubie, whose family had owned Chateau Le Pin since 1924 sold the one hectare vineyard in 1979 to the Belgian Jacques Thienpont for 1 million francs. The vineyards were developed by Jacques Thienpont whose family own the neighbouring Vieux Chateau Certan, and the wine at Chateau Le Pin was produced in tiny quantities from a farmhouse basement. The property was already called Le Pin from a solitary pine tree that grows near the winery. Today the estate comprises 2,7 hectares in one contiguous vineyard surrounding the winery. In 2011 a new winery, designed by the Belgian architectural practice Robbrecht en Daem architecten, was inaugurated using small microcuves and gravity to move Chateau Le Pin wine.
Chateau Le Pin is considered by some a predecessor of the "garage wines", although this idea is rejected by many, including by the proprietors, on the basis of the merits of the terroir, and the absence of extreme measures to compensate for mediocre grapes.
Chateau Le Pin occasionally the most expensive wine in the world, continually receiving high wine ratings from wine critics and produced in extremely small numbers, Chateau Le Pin bottles are a constant presence on the wine auction market.
The winery is currently managed by Jacques Thienpont, and additional tiny plots of land have been acquired. Chateau Le Pin is among the clients of the oenologist Dany Rolland, wife of Michel Rolland.
Vineyard
Surface area: 5 acres
Grape Varieties: 92% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc
Average age of vines: 28 years
Density of plantation: 6,000 vines per hectare
Average yields: 34 hectoliters per hectare
Average cases produced: 600 per year
Plateau of maturity: 8 - 25 years
Château Le Pin 2000 Reviews / Tasting Notes
Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate
Point Score: 96
This is a slight downgrade for this wine, but I suspect it will bounce back, as it clearly needs more time. It was more reserved than I thought it would be, as Le Pin tends to be one of the more extravagantly rich, flamboyant wines of Pomerol. The one time I tasted the 2000, it had a dense ruby/purple color, aggressive new oak, loads of coconut, vanilla, and spice box, enormous concentration and thickness, but this is an estate where I thought their subsequent year, 2001, was an even better wine. This wine displays some firm tannins in the finish and should be forgotten for another 5-6 years. So much for Le Pin not aging well. This one has at least 25 years left in it.
Wine Spectator
Point Score: 95-100
Complex and super fine. Smoky currants and violets. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long finish. Racy and exciting. Classic, but not 1998. Score range: 95-100
Stephen Tanzer - Vinous
Point Score: 90-93
Bright ruby. Perfumed aromas of black raspberry, cherry, violet and bitter chocolate, plus a whiff of roasted ripeness (Alexandre Theinpont told me that the mildew gave a slight dryness to the skins, which in turn was responsible for a note of torrefaction in the wine). Offers almost confectionery sweetness of cassis, raspberry and spice flavors; dense but not huge. But not quite as exotic as the superb '98, which features notes of pineapple and passion fruit. Finishes long and ripely tannic, with notes of spice and bitter chocolate. The yield was barely 30 hectoliters per hectare.