Farr Vintners Logo

Le Pin 2018

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > Pomerol
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot

One of the most famous and hard-to-find wines of Bordeaux thanks to the tiny production (of 100% Merlot from 2.5 hectares of vines) and consistently fabulous quality. Jacques Thienpont established Le Pin in 1979 and his sumptuous, silky Pomerol is always intense yet un-forced, smooth and fine. He believes that his 2018 "represents a combination of the qualities of the 2015 and 2016 vintages joined together." The yield this year was 30 hl/ha and the alcohol is 14.5 degrees

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Le Pin

Label

Tasting Notes

Tasted blind at Southwold 2018. Deep ruby colour with a powerful, seductive and smoky nose. The palate has a wonderfully silky texture, everything has been fine tuned. The fruit is allowed to sit among cashmere tannins, making for a very moreish, creamy perception. Despite the hedonistic, succulent style this has fine savoury tones at the edges. It is a hedonistic delight.

96
Thomas Parker MW, Farr Vintners, January 2022

The density and texture to this Le Pin is very surprising. It’s tannic and intense with an angular and stony-mineral undertone. Full-bodied yet energetic and edgy. Great structure. Reminds me of the great 1986.

98/99
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2019

The 2018 Le Pin is made of 100% Merlot, picked the last week of September with yields of 30 hectoliters per hectare. The wine has a pH of 3.7, an IPT (total polyphenol index) of 70 and 14.5% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it is a little reserved to begin, offering glimpses of tar, fertile loam and truffles with slowly emerging notes of baked black cherries, stewed plums, mulberries and underbrush plus hints of black pepper, hoisin and chargrill with a waft of garrigue. Full-bodied, the palate is loaded with taut, muscular fruit and heaps of earthy accents, with a firm frame of ripe, rounded tannins and just enough seamless freshness, finishing very long and wonderfully savory.

97/99
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (April 2019), April 2019

This is extremely good, expansive and luxurious with a stunning texture – vibrant and powerful, and a floral side that becomes clear as it opens in the glass, lifting the whole thing not through acidity but through aromatics.

The real difference with Le Pin and other 100% Merlot wines is the sumptuousness through the mid palate, it’s so wide and rich, you can’t just walk over it but lie down on it, feather pillow style.

They had a yield of 30hl/ha, mainly due to thicker than usual skins with some concentration at the finish, and added a selected rather than indigenous yeast to deal with the alcohol levels. 3.7Ph. 70IPT.

2019, by the way, is the 40th anniversary vintage here for the Thienponts.

Drinking Window 2026 - 2040

98
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2019

Tasted blind. Blackish crimson. High toned. Really very well composed with sweetness and tea leaves and no excess of tannins. Quite spicy. Smooth with a suggestion of cough linctus. Long.
Drink 2026 – 2044

18
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2022

30 hl/ha, pH 3.7. Barrel sample.
Intensely perfumed with a complex combinaton of red fruits, a hint of lovely leafiness or pencil shavings (not underripeness at all), and floral plus some dark fruits in this vintage. Then there's a slightly chocolatey note from the oak but very slight and not intrusive. On the palate, both dry and silky at the same time, fluent across the palate, with the lightest of tannic friction more like a matt texture. Intense and sweet-fruited on the palate, impressive concentration, the sweetness of pure fruit. Generous, inviting and glossy without being showy. (JH) 14.5%
Drink 2028-2043

18.5
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2019

A deep ruby purple in the glass. Bursting with red and black berries on the nose, with hints of white pepper, smoked nuts and graphite. The palate is glossy on entry, with great intensity of fleshy cherries and plums. This is wonderfully refined, elegant and unforced, with cashmere tannins and purity of fruit. There are mineral, cool undertones and waves of fresh acidity that tame the riper elements at the core, but the texture is seductive and satiny. The finish is long, lightly spicy and harmonious.

98
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, April 2019

About as sexy as wine gets, the 2018 Le Pin comes from a tiny vineyard located just across from Vieux Château Certan and is always 100% Merlot brought up in new barrels. It reveals a deep purple color as well as a heavenly bouquet of crème de cassis, roasted coffee, vanilla, and toasted spice. Deep, full-bodied, seamless, and incredibly layered on the palate, with ultra-fine tannins, it's already approachable, with the flamboyant style of the vintage, yet should evolve for decades. It’s a brilliant Pomerol in the making.

97/99
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, May 2019

(100 Merlot) | 100% new oak | 14.5% alc | 30 hl/ha | 3.7 pH | 70 IPT A very intense nose leads the way with supreme richness and decadence. The acidity on the finish is amazing, too, and these two elements bookend a profoundly delicious, densely exotic wine dotted with spice and wild flower notes. It is the layering of eight different plots of Merlot on the 2.5ha property which makes this such a fascinating and rewarding wine. There is already some superb depth on display and the palate is expansive without any unwanted muscle or brawn. I made no notes at all about the oak and this is because it is at one with the wine. Jacques Thienpont thinks it is like a blend of 2015 and 2016 in one wine. I think that this is a nice image and yet there is a suppleness in this vintage which brings and extra level of charm to this wine and this sums up the 2018 vintage.

19+
Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com, April 2019
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.