Chateau Le Pin 2021

A gorgeous 2021 from Le Pin. Summer autumn berries on the nose - crunchy strawberry and ripe blackcurrant. So expressive with a beautiful fragrance and nuance of aroma. Incredibly precise and sharp, gorgeously clean and nuanced. It's delicate no doubt, there’s barely any weight here but just such beautiful delineation of flavours that just linger on the tongue. It’s fresh and al dente. Really not trying too hard with lychee, orange peel, slightly exotic elements and a bitter spice on the finish. Silky and smooth, with drive and definition the whole way through. The signature is just slightly more cool in terms of aromatics but it’s still Le Pin.

This is really pure and primary with very clean and bright aromas of crushed grapes. Minerally and floral with brightness and vividness. Just a hint of smoke and meat. Medium-bodied with a tight and poised center palate and a racy finish. Structured in a classic, great Bordeaux way. Needs five or six years to come together and soften, but this is seamless and wonderful. Drink after 2030 and beyond.

The 2021 Le Pin showed impressively from barrel. Now in bottle since the beginning of June 2022, it has evolved since then, developing more depth and delineation. Oddly, you might misconstrue this as containing some Cabernet Franc (though, of course, it is 100% Merlot). The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled tannins. It has a wonderful symmetry and, although it declines to fan out on the finish like a top growing season, it is fresh and saline, beckoning you back for another sip. Lovely.

Cinnamon, flowers, licorice, roses, plums, and cherries with espresso, black raspberries, and fresh, leafy herbs create the array of notes in the perfume. On the palate, the wine is fresh, bright, soft, polished, elegant, and refined. The tannins are silky, and the fruits are pure and vibrant, with a crisp, almost crunchy quality to the sweet cherries, cocoa, and orange rind in the finish. The wine was produced from 100% Merlot, 13.4% ABV. The harvest took place September 25 - October 4. Yields were 35 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2025 - 2045. 94-96

Dark vivd ruby red, purple reflections at the narrow rim. Fresh nuances of cherries and blackberry, a touch of precious wood, liquorice and a little nougat. Juicy, fine red berry fruit, finessed, well-structured, silky tannins, refined blackcurrant, mineral-silky finish, very good length; an elegant wine, marked by freshness and delicacy. Already very approachable.

The 2021 Château Le Pin is the same 100% Merlot, and it was raised in slightly less new oak, spending 18 months in 65% new oak (Seguin Moreaux and Taransaud). It has a deep ruby hue as well and brilliant notes of ripe black cherries, blackberries, candied violets, spice, and kirsch. It's textured, medium to full-bodied, has fine tannins, and a lively spine of acidity and salinity on the finish. It's a gorgeous 2021 to enjoy over the coming two decades.

Guillaume Thienpont presented an outstanding Le Pin, now matured with a reduced proportion of new oak. 65% for the 2021, 80% for the 2020—previously it was always 100% new barrels. Deep, насыщข? Dark, rich colour; Le Pin 2021 is supremely refined and elegant, scented with delicate, profound fruit and a Burgundian character. Incredibly fine and silky, with a jewel-like cloak of dark-fruited Merlot to the fore and a more nuanced red-fruit note in the background. Superb juiciness and clarity: it opens on the palate with a creamy texture, framed by elegant tannins, entirely geared towards finesse and balance, with bursting freshness. Guillaume calls this structure “al dente”: not too ripe, not too soft—everything is crisp and detailed. Long and endlessly fine, the 2021 captures the essence of Le Pin with great persistence. Pure and seamless, wonderfully delicate and silky, a touch more tender than the lush, seductive Vieux Château Certan, which Guillaume also oversees.

Kunz barrel sample 2022: (100% Merlot, 35 hl/ha, 13.4% vol. alcohol) A silky, dense, finely textured, fresh and complex bouquet of raspberry jelly, delicate pralines and lemon balm. A tightly knit, elegant, fresh, Burgundian-style palate with a fresh, delicate, finely creamy structure, a diverse and concentrated aromatic profile, fine fresh fruit, fine tannins, and a very long, dense, fresh finish with sweet return aromas.

(100% Merlot, 35 hl/ha, 13.4% vol. alcohol) Silky, dense, finely nuanced, fresh, complex bouquet with raspberry jelly, delicate praline notes, and lemon balm. Tightly knit, elegant, fresh, Burgundy-like palate with a fresh, delicate, finely creamy texture, layered, concentrated aromatics, refined fresh fruit, fine tannins, and a very long, dense, fresh finish with sweet return flavours. 19/20 2028 - 2060

Jewel-ruby colour, this has layers of nuanced black fruits and campfire smoke on the nose. One of the more delicate renditions of Le Pin after a number of years of powerful seduction, this is vivid and juicy, heading towards brambled raspberry fruits, with finely-spun tannins and a twist of liquorice bud and grilled earth. The deep gravels of Le Pin (among the deepest of Pomerol, up to 6m) were able to ripen earlier than most areas, and this still delivers an arresting wine, with nuance, hidden power, and beauty. But it may not still the conversation in a room the way that the best vintages of this remarkable wine can do. 75% new oak. Diana Berrouet arrived in January 2022 (from Ch Petit Village) to Le Pin for the blending of this vintage, working with viticulturalist and consulting winemaker Guillaume Thienpont. 35hl/h yield, harvest November 25 to October 4. No frost impact, no mildew either. They made no 2013 and no 2003 here, so if they are making it, it's a good sign that they are happy with it.

After a run of powerful vintages, 2021 returns to a lively style, where approachability and finesse are the watchwords, recalling the balance of Bordeaux wines from 30 years ago, with today’s technical precision. It’s hard not to fall under its spell, with a sense of immediacy and aromas ranging from small dark berries to potpourri, with a touch of liquorice. The mouthfeel is remarkable, with taffeta-like tannins, perfectly balanced.

A hypnotic, evolving nose—both deep and agile—revealing notes of crisp fruit and spring wildflowers. On the palate, the wine unfurls like a long Persian carpet being rolled out: thick, caressing, richly patterned, yet with stunning freshness and clarity. The inimitable sumptuousness of this Pomerol expresses itself beautifully in a lighter vintage, with tightly knit fruit, inky notes and a cocoa-tinged finish.

Le Pin 2021 stands out for its finesse, serenity and ability to shine discreetly. The bouquet reveals a host of nuances, with spicy and floral notes complemented by a mineral touch, hints of blond tobacco and wafts of cherry. Silky and harmonious, the wine boasts precise, suave, elegant tannins that are perfectly integrated. They add body and support the aromatic expression, while the structure brings vigor and character. A Le Pin with its usual refinement, enhanced by an extra soulfulness, liveliness and a distinctive edge that reinforce freshness and finesse with great precision. A tremendous success; before being a 2021, Le Pin is first and foremost Le Pin!

The nose is fruity, nicely fresh and delicate, offering lovely purity of fruit, a silky feel and a subtle richness (with delicacy/complexity). It reveals notes of bright, fleshy cherry, redcurrant and, more lightly, fresh, vibrant blueberry, combined with fine touches of plump blackcurrant, along with delicate hints of violet and star anise, a discreet sappy note and a racy minerality. The palate is fruity and brings minerality, beautiful freshness with great delicacy, tension, a certain power (in a refined style) and a discreet sense of precision. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of fresh, fleshy raspberry, fleshy cherry and, more lightly, juicy, tangy blackcurrant, combined with touches of plump, juicy small blue fruits, as well as hints of cornflower and star anise, fine sappy and violet notes, a subtle tangy, appetising touch, and a discreet hint of vanilla and toast. The tannins are supple, fine, delicate, racy and silky. Savoury length and a discreet mellowness on the finish. A beautifully driving freshness!

Beautiful deep dark red. The nose is initially a little discreet, with lovely ripe fruit aromas. Subtle. The palate is all about fine, tactile precision, with just the right touch of richness through the mid-palate so it never leaves the mouth. Then, as so often, comes that irresistible urge to take another sip. A refined, very flavoursome wine that should be served decanted. And for Jacques Thienpont, the standard is 2 hours before serving.

A velvety bouquet emerges, almost powdery in its definition. This year, the generous style of Le Pin takes on a more upright, focused expression: the palate is supple, carried by perfectly ripe Merlot (100%). Built on a fine tannic frame and a refined acidic backbone, the wine unfolds with tenderness. It offers good persistence and beautiful textural finesse, a hallmark of the care with which its terroir is revealed.

The 2021 Le Pin has turned out beautifully in bottle, bursting with aromas of raspberries and blackberries mingled with notions of pencil shavings, spices, black truffle and licorice, framed by a discreet touch of new oak (only 55% new this year). Medium to full-bodied, ample and enveloping, it's suave and sensual, with a fleshy core of fruit and beautifully refined tannins and concludes with a long, rose-inflected finish. Le Pin, after all, is an early-ripening, well-drained terroir, so it's hardly surprising that it should perform especially well in a vintage like 2021.