Le Pin - Château du Pin - Pomerol 2014

Vinous

92 / 100

par Neal Martin le 28/03/2018

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.

Jamessuckling.com

98 / 100

par James Suckling le 16/02/2017

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.

Wine Spectator

97 / 100

par James Molesworth le 24/01/2017

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.—J.M.

Le Point

17 / 20

par Jacques Dupont le 21/05/2015

Nez bourguignon, cerise, fruits rouges, griotte, bouche gourmande, ample, généreuse, vin flatteur, plus exubérant que Vieux-Château-Certan.  

Vinous

94-97 / 100

par Antonio Galloni le 11/05/2015

The 2014 Le Pin is a stratospheric, deeply moving wine. Here, the gravelly soils allowed for excellent drainage and gave the Thienpont family all the conditions needed for a late harvest. Rich, powerful and voluptuous in the glass, the 2014 boasts superb depth and concentration to match its exuberant personality. A deep, sensual wine, in 2014 Le Pin has it all. Hints of lavender, violets, plums and cassis are layered into the spellbinding finish. In 2014, this is just about as good as it gets.

The Wine Cellar Insider

94-96 / 100

par Jeff Leve le 05/05/2015

This wine opens with citrus, floral, dark chocolate, plum and dark cherry notes in the nose, creating a complex set of aromatics. Plush, rich, clean and pure, what the wine lacks in opulence, it makes up for with its concentrated, fresh, long, pure, sweet, velvet-driven character. 94-96 Pts

Wine Advocate

92-94 / 100

par Neal Martin le 30/04/2015

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.

Asian Palate

94-95 / 100

par Jeannie Cho Lee MW le 20/04/2015

Lively ripe plum and dark cherry with hint of cocoa in the finish. The tannins here are cashmere-like in texture with deep, dark earthy flavors on the palate. Luscious and generous with lifted spices in the long finish. An excellent Le Pin made from 100% Merlot.

Decanter.com

18,25 / 20

par James Lawther MW le 17/04/2015

Typical Le Pin. Almost Burgundian, berry-fruit fragrance. Delicate sweetness on the palate. Elegant texture with finely woven tannins. Persistent, fresh finish. Elegant, balanced and digest. Drink: 2022-2035 (94)

Jancis Robinson

17,5 / 20

par Jancis Robinson le 14/04/2015

‘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, 20112 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

Jamessuckling.com

93-94 / 100

par James Suckling le 10/04/2015

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.

timatkin.com

97 / 100

par Tim Atkin MW le 07/04/2015

René Gabriel

18 / 20

par René Gabriel le 01/04/2015

100 % Merlot. 24 hl/ha. Dunkles Granat, recht satt in der Mitte, rubiner Rand. Leicht blättriges Bouquet zu Beginn, dann rotes Cassis, Preiselbeeren, im Innern ein faszinierendes Merlotparfüm zeigend, dann kommt das fast-buttrige zum Vorschein und auch feine Caramelnuancen, welche sich mit dem – für Le Pin üblichen – Kokosschimmer vermischen. Im burgundischen Gaumen bleibt er auf der frischfruchtigen Seite und tendenziell auch im eher rotbeerigen Bereich, aber es sind ganz viele verschiedene Beeren mit dabei welche für Grundaromatik sorgen. Im mittelgewichtigen Körper zeigen sich feine Muskeln. Erst im Nachklang merkt man die doch ziemlich beeindruckende Konzentration. Oft vergleiche ich ja den Le Pin mit einem Richebourg. Diesmal ist/wäre es eine Art Romanée St.Vivant! An diesem zwar sehr gelungenen Le Pin merkt man an, dass es wahrlich kein Merlotjahr in dieser Region war. Er wirkte noch selten so klassisch und irgendwie gar unspektakulär. Ich denke, der weitere Ausbau in den Süsse bringenden Barriques wird das Seine beitragen. Zwei Mal verkostet. Einmal auf Vieux Château Certan und zwei Tage später nochmals auf Le Pin selbst. 18/20 2022 – 2038

Wine Spectator

96-99 / 100

par James Molesworth le 30/03/2015

Delivers its telltale aroma of succulent raspberry fruit, with beguiling spice and anecho of boysenberry and blackberry. The structure is solid, but remainsremarkably silky and thoroughly ensconced in the fruit. A fine mineral accentemerges on the finish, revealing echoes of violet and lavender, but this is basicallyall fruit, the whole fruit and nothing but the fruit, and there's nothing wrong withthat.