Wine Advisor
Le Pin 2008
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Dark ruby in colour, the Le Pin 2008 has a wonderful bouquet with raspberry, wild strawberry, rose petals and minerals. The palate is very well defined on the entry with crisp tannins, superb mineralite and tension with raspberry coulis, blackberry leaf, limestone and a touch of lemon peel. This Le Pin is so very focused and precise, yet it needs several years to really blossom. Excellent. Tasted April 2011.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This is an elegant, sexy, aromatic style of Le Pin, with a dark plum/purple-tinged color and a seductive nose of caramel, mocha, jammy black cherries and currants, as well as hints of wood and earth. Medium to full-bodied and round, with no hard edges, this lush style of wine should drink nicely for another 15 or more years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted ex-chateau and single blind in Southwold. This bottle of Le Pin is very reduced on the nose and there is an odd aromatic trait reminiscent of a Hornby train set! It begins to open with continued aeration offering some attractive floral aromas and that “Hornby” tincture disappears. The palate is very sweet and ripe on the entry with chewy red fruits, huge tannins and a dense, powerful finish without compromising precision. There is balance and great focus here, but it will need a long time to come round. Tasted January 2012.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This wine had finished malolactic fermentation, but it was still very primary and largely unevolved. There will be approximately 525 cases of this 100% Merlot in 2008. A dense purple color is followed by notes of cassis, kirsch, plums, and hints of underbrush as well as roasted coffee beans. The wine possesses superb concentration, beautiful freshness, and an opulent, dense style with exceptionally sweet tannin. It will be an outrageously good Pomerol to consume over the next 25 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the chateau, the immediate impression on the nose of the Le Pin 2008 is the richness, an almost honeyed richness that is in stark contrast to say, VCC or L’Eglise-Clinet. It ebbs a little with further aeration, to reveal aromas of dark plum, fig, boysenberry and a touch of crushed stone. More open compared to other Pomerols. The palate is quite different with very fine tannins on the entry, very taut and superb acidity. Tightly-wound, exceptionally pure and bursting with mineralite towards the finish with vibrant blueberry and dark plum on the finish where the terroir really shines through. Superb. Drink 2013-2025+ Tasted October 2010.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
En primeur barrel sample. Started the harvest on 1st October in three shifts, with the young vines and waited three of four days with the older vine. This has an intriguing nose - usually Le Pin is all sweetness and light at this stage, but here, it is deeper, darker and broodier - perhaps even more complex than the outstanding 2006. Brambly black fruits, a touch of blueberry and wild hedgerow, crushed stones. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, imbued with the same sense of minerality that I think their vines are now imparting. An enthralling sense of energy on the finish. This is a serious. Tasted April 2009. Tasted April 2009.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2008 Le Pin is a classic that's evolving more slowly than the 2009 or 2010. Unwinding in the glass with a deep and youthfully primary bouquet of dark berries, cherries, exotic spices, vanilla pod and petals, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and vibrant, with a concentrated core of fruit, velvety tannins and a long, penetrating finish. While it can be drunk with pleasure today, it still possesses plenty of upside.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
(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.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2008 Le Pin has a sumptuous bouquet with red cherries, crushed strawberry, truffle, orange rind and light floral scents. It comes across as being fully mature although the palate indicates that it will gift a long drinking window. It offers plenty of raspberry and blackberry fruit, the tannins perhaps a little edgier than other vintages, a touch of graininess towards the fresh, mineral-driven finish. It is not the most voluptuous Le Pin, more reflective of the growing season than the terroir. (Tasted at BI Wine & Spirit’s annual 10-Year On tasting.)
About the Producer
Le Pin is the most expensive wine in the world. Jacques Thienpont purchased the meagre 1.6 hectares of land for one million francs in 1979. The Thienpoints named their wine Le Pin after a solitary pine tree that shaded the property. By acquiring tiny adjoining plots of land, Jacques has doubled the size of Le Pin to five acres. The south-facing vineyard on a well-drained slope of gravel and sand is planted with Merlot (about 92%), and a small amount of Cabernet Franc. Le Pin's soil is a mixture of gravel and clay with a little sand and is exceptionally low yielding (between 30 to 35 hl/hc). The grapes are hand-harvested and are fermented in stainless steel before being matured in`200%` new oak barriques for between 14 and 18 months. Dany Rolland, wife of cult-oenologist Michel Rolland, is a consultant here. Le Pin produces just 600 to 700 cases each year (Lafite Rothschild produces approximately 29,000 cases of wine a year and and Pétrus about 4,000) and its rarity is one of the driving forces behind its high prices. Le Pin produces super-concentrated, decadent, lush and lavishly oaked wines - they can be drunk young but are best with 7-10 years of bottle ageing.
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