2012 Le Pin
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
100% Merlot. 13.5% abv. Fabulous nose: intense, deep and complex. This is dark and mineral and the palate is flowing with a delicate sweetness of fruit. Not the biggest Le Pin but impeccably well made and superbly balanced. Fine and long. Very good indeed, and a credible contender for wine of the vintage. FINE+RARE
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
FINE+RARE
More reviews and scores
The 2012 Le Pin was tasted from magnum at the château. Showing a little bricking on the rim, it has a gorgeous bouquet with red fruit, rusty piping, black truffle and sandalwood, beautifully defined and quite ravishing. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. This is a very mellow Le Pin, lithe and beautifully focused with a fine bead of acidity. The finish has just a little warmth, but it caresses the mouth with a beguiling finish. Evolving beautifully.
The 2012 Le Pin is more animally on the nose compared to its peers with blackberry and briary, hints of cough candy, Seville orange marmalade and liquorice developing with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and acidity, quite elegant and velvety in texture, everything well proportioned with a tertiary, slightly Asian flavor on the finish and dark chocolate hints on the aftertaste. This is a fine, charming Le Pin drinking perfectly now. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index's Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.
Less-direct nose than Petrus and quite light and fresh, without the sweetness or density of Petrus. No great wines, just great bottles, eh? This bottle contained wine that was a bit pinched on the end. (JR)
About the producer
Owned by Jacques Thienpont, Le Pin is, without doubt, one of the most famous names in wine. One of the three great names of Pomerol, alongside Pétrus and Ch. Lafleur, it is one of the rarest, most expensive and finest wines in Bordeaux – if not the world.