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Le Pin 2010

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

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Label

Tasting Notes

Made from 100% Merlot (one percent for each rating point I've assigned), this wine is explosively rich and compelling. Dense plum/purple, it boasts the remarkable delineation and freshness that are hallmarks of this vintage. From a much smaller production than normal because of Merlot's poor flowering, the very hot, dry growing and harvest conditions, this is a super-endowed, very rich Le Pin with its exotic new oak largely buried behind its extravagant concentration, power and richness. I don't know what its natural alcohol level is, but I suspect it is pushing 15% in 2010. Rich, tannic, but exceptionally well-endowed, this is a sublime example of Merlot at its very finest. Forget it for 5-7 years (which is somewhat unusual for Le Pin) and drink it over the following three decades. Drink 2018-2048.

100
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (205), March 2013

Dreamlike deep nose with blackberries, graphite and some smoky notes. Opens with licorice, vanilla and red fruit. Full and intensely fruity on the palate with lots of dark berries. Complex, dense and deeply structured with polished tannins and a great finish that just goes on and on. The balance is amazing. Even better than 2009. Drink from 2018.

100
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2013

The 2010 Le Pin is made from 100% Merlot. Deep garnet in color, it bursts from the glass with unbridled, hedonic notions of baked plums, Black Forest cake, Chinese five spice and blueberry pie plus wafts of smoked meats, candied violets, dark chocolate and cigar box. Medium-bodied, the palate exudes slow maturing black and blue berry layers, framed by firm, oh-so-plush tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing with incredible length and depth. Already drop dead gorgeous, this beautiful baby has a very long life ahead! 2020-2065

100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (March 2020), March 2020

Garnet colour is not that deep. Heady, rather glorious and very obvious Merlot on the nose. Hugely rich and hedonistic in terms of flavour. But far from the densest. Really quite restrained, with a dry finish. Not the most glamorous Le Pin and actually a relatively light, but very well balanced, 2010. 13.5%
Drink 2018 – 2038

17.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, March 2020
98
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2011

Has all the charm of the '09 but to my mind a touch more vivacity and structure. Lifted Burgundian red fruit and spice aromas and flavour. Supple caressing fruit on the palate. Decadent sweetness on the mid-palate then long filigree tannins. Drink 2020-2035.

18.5
James Lawther MW, Decanter.com, April 2011
Read more tasting notes...

2010: The 2010 Le Pin is 100% Merlot, aged in 100% new oak, but the Thienponts never want to hear that this is one of those "cult wines." It has been widely imitated by others thanks to its enormous success, and as I have written many times, it is a relatively exotic take on Bordeaux. The 2010 is the darkest colored Le Pin I have ever seen - black purple, no doubt due to tiny yields and the very small berries that were the result of the drought of 2010. Uber-concentrated, with fabulous cassis and black cherry fruit, licorice, and notes of subtle smoke and toast, the wine is full-bodied, with sweet tannin and remarkable thickness/unctuosity. It should prove to be one of the longest-lived Le Pins made in its first 30+ years of existence. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030+.

96/98
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (194), May 2011

Tasted blind, the Le Pin 2010 stick out like...well...a pin. The fruit is incredibly intense, much more so than just over a year ago, adorned with a hypnotic floral element that just explodes from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied and comes out of the blocks sprinting with vibrant spicy black fruit laced with cracked black pepper. The tannins feel firm in the mouth, lending this wondrous structure and precision, whilst the finish is extraordinarily long. Fabulous - Jacques Thienpont's wine is just getting into its stride. Tasted January 2014.

97+
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, February 2014

Jacques Thienpont has crafted an impeccable 2010 Le Pin. Cropped at 34hl/ha and offering 14.2% alcohol, it has a sumptuous bouquet of luscious blackberries and bilberries, crushed stone elements and a touch of cassis. It has certainly comes out of its shell since its showing in barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a sweet core of boysenberry and dark plum fruit, fresh acidity and a silky smooth, quite precocious cassis-driven finish that is long and sensual in the mouth. This is a beautiful '10 Pomerol that deserves a decade in bottle. Tasted November 2012.

95
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, February 2013

The sample taken from a blend of young vines and old vines in Taransaud and Seguin Moreau barrels, the Le Pin was picked from 24th September until 25th September, cropped at 34hl/ha. It delivers 14.2% alcohol with a total acidity of 3.20 and pH of 3.75. There was no saignée like in 2009. Tasted with the pneumatic drills in the background, it has a very pure bouquet with blackberry, crushed strawberry, limestone and a touch of rose petals, quite understated compared to recent vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with tensile tannins, good mineralité and tension here with vibrant, pure dark plum, boysenberry and cassis. Superb precision towards the finish, much tauter than the 2009, the Le Pin 2010 is a great Pomerol from the Pomerol undergoing a complete renovation (due to be completed in June 2011.) Tasted April 2011.

93/95
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, April 2011

This has muscles, with milk chocolate, plums and hints of wood. Very powerful, with lots of structure. It reminds me of the 1986 which is underrated and fabulous. A wine for aging. Super structured

95/96
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2011

Blend from different barrels. Very dark crimson and voluptuous. Lovely combination of richness, savour and freshness. A big step up. Fresh minerality on the finish. Jacques Thienpont was worried about the Merlots, and Alexandre Thienpont encouraged picking here so that he could pick at Vieux Château Certan. Most unusual freshness. Sinewy. Really racy but with great density. Had two Oz oenologists on hand in case they needed help in alcohol reduction but in the event didn't need to use them. Jacques says he would like to have waited a little longer but the results aren't too bad, are they?

18
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2011
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.