| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > Pomerol |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
A ravishing red that pours out aromas of crushed raspberries, blueberries and dried flowers. Black truffle skins and undertones of violets. Full-bodied yet so tight and refined with incredible finesse and polish. The beauty and chic runs on for minutes on the finish. A truly endless and breathtakingly harmonious wine. It just rolls off the palate. Drink in 2022.
This features a remarkable display of fruit, both fresh and steeped—primarily raspberry, but with notes of blackberry and boysenberry as well—all gliding through seamlessly while light anise, Lapsang souchong tea and roasted mesquite details underscore the finish. The texture is equally sublime. Best from 2020 through 2040. 348 cases made.
The 2014 Le Pin has a powerful and quite showy bouquet with ample red berry fruit, black truffle, singed leather and a light marine influence that comes through with time in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, a fine bead of acidity, fresh and lively with fleshy red cherry, crushed strawberry and white pepper notes on the satisfying finish. It is a fine Pomerol even if it does not quite match up to recent vintages from Jacques Thienpont. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 2020 - 2040
The 2014 Le Pin is deep garnet-brick in color. Notes of cedar chest and dried roses slowly emerge from the glass, leading to a core of dried raspberries, kirsch, and fruitcake plus a waft of truffle. The medium-bodied palate is an exercise in elegance, with silky tannins and beautifully knit freshness supporting the delicately nuanced flavors, finishing long and fragrant.
Tasted blind. Well-shaded colour. Very complex, rich nose that is thoroughly hedonistic. Great presence in the mouth. Lots of edginess and interest. Long. Like fermented spicy, sweet biscuits. Really interesting and alive. Round.
Drink 2024-2050
One of the most famous and hard-to-find wines of Bordeaux thanks to the tiny production and consistently fabulous quality. Jacques Thienpont established Le Pin in 1979 and whilst many have tried to imitate his sumptuous Pomerol, that is intense yet un-forced, none has succeeeded. The 2014 is 100% Merlot, harvested 23rd to 30th September and is 13% alcohol. There is less wine than usual, with roughly 4000 bottles to be produced. Lovely purity on the nose. Classic Le Pin with a Burgundy like character. Very precise and unadulterated fruit. A tiny hint of roasted meat on the nose. Incredibly fine, sleek texture that is like no other wine this year. Fresh precision and a wonderful, silky softness. So attractive it's almost ready now! Amazing refinement, class, and length. Definitely one of the wines of the vintage.
After a near wash out in 2013 (there were only 1,000 bottles made), normal service was resumed at this bijou Pomerol property in 2014, albeit at yields of 24 hectolitres. This is fine, floral and very delicate, despite its 100% new oak. Sweet, nuanced and hauntingly balanced with notes of redcurrant and raspberry and a hint of leafy complexity.
The 2014 Le Pin has a really quite lovely bouquet. Tasted alongside its "cousin" Vieux-Château-Certan, it is more exotic and outgoing, yet it maintains fine delineation and complexity with upfront blueberry and black cherry fruit, quite a noticeable menthol note emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a sweet and embracing entry, caressing in texture thanks to the succulent tannin, though these are counterpoised by the silver bead of acidity. There is just a touch of salted licorice that pops up on the finish. To quote Alexandre Thienpont (since Jacques and Fiona had to be in Belgium), this is a "classic" Le Pin, though I feel it will be overshadowed by the 2015. Drink 2020 -2045
Jacques Thienpont told me that the Le Pin 2014 was picked between 23 and 30 September at a yield of 24 hectoliter per hectare. The wine has 13% alcohol and a pH of 3.5. Of course, its gravelly soils would have been beneficial in coping with the rain compared to those on less well-drained clay soils. It has a well-defined, focused bouquet that is not as complex as a top vintage Le Pin but there is a pleasant underlying mineralité that I believe will be expressed in bottle. The palate is medium-bodied with edgy tannin, a little pinched on the mid-palate with a very linear finish with a saline, citrus fresh finish. This is one of the most tensile vintages that I have tasted in recent years: not as complex as others (and I've tasted them all except the four barrels of 2013), but it is full of nascent energy. Rather than thinking of this as Le Pin, it’s just a supremely well-crafted Pomerol. Drink: 2018 - 2035
Very subtle and refined with an ethereal fruit and stealth character. Medium body, integrated tannins and a delicate fruit, mineral and fresh herb aftertaste. A gorgeous pure merlot.
'We thought it would be ok when we didn't see any rot in the vineyards and we could choose when to pick, compared with 2011, 2012 and 2013.' There was a week's difference between young and old vines. They use the Vieux Château Certan picking team so they can alternate. 24 hla/ha. pH 3.5, TA 3.6 g/l (= 5.5 g/l expressed as tartaric).
Dense crimson. Very meaty indeed on the nose. Heady and ripe. Broad and luscious. More ripe and intense initially than any other 2014 I have tasted so far but then a cool finish with lots of sweetness. Very polished. Lift and plushness. But the elements need to come together. 13%
Drink 2025-2038
