Château Le Pin 2008
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 2008 Reviews / Tasting Notes
Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate
Point Score: 93-96
Complex aromas of blackberries, cherries, chocolate and violets. Very Burgundian nose. Full-bodied, with a wonderful texture and sweet fruit. So much chocolate and silky texture. Really beautiful and mesmerizing. Superlong. Score range: 93-96
Wine Spectator
Point Score: 90-93
Very typical Le Pin, with floral, cassis and light plum character. Full, yet refined, with lovely silky tannins and a long, long sweet fruit finish. Very pretty. Not many 2007s like this. The winemaker says that this has a deluxe caress and it does. Score range: 90-93
Stephen Tanzer - Vinous
Point Score: 93-95
(100% merlot). Ruby-red. Captivating, dense nose offers very pure aromas of violet, ripe raspberry, black cherry, plum and minerals. Incredibly rich and exotic on the palate, with a compellingly pure black cherry flavor complicated by notes of sweet licorice, cinnamon and minerals. Finishes sweet, broad and extremely long, and though slightly more tannic than usual, the tannins are very smooth and polished. This is the only property in Pomerol on mainly gravelly soil that did as well as those situated on more clay-rich ground, which tended to make the best wines in Pomerol in '08.