Le Pin - Pomerol 2022

Wine Advocate

95

par William Kelley le 07/03/2025

The 2022 Le Pin has turned out very well, retaining impressive energy for such an early-ripening, well-draining site in so warm a year. Offering up aromas of sweet cherries, berries, licorice and violets, framed by a creamy patina of new oak, it's full-bodied, layered and exotic, with a sweet core of ripe fruit, polished tannins and a layered, seamless profile.

Jeb DUNNUCK

99

par Jeb Dunnuck le 28/02/2025

Wow, the 2022 Château Le Pin is absolutely stunning and has a heavenly perfume of black raspberries, spicy wood, flowers, incense, and camphor that develops beautifully with time in the glass. With sensational elegance, full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins, and flawlessly integrated oak, it's one of the 2022s that's just about impossible to resist. As always, this cuvée is 100% Merlot from a tiny parcel not far from Vieux Chateau Certan, and the 2022 was raised in 65% new French oak. While this wine is frightfully expensive and hard to find, it certainly brings the goods in 2022!

Vinous

98

par Neal Martin le 12/02/2025

The 2022 Le Pin was certainly more closed than the L'Hêtre or L'If upon initial taste, so I gave my decanted glass another decant, pouring from one glass to another several times. That helped to reveal a very perfumed bouquet with black cherries, raspberry, hints of cigar humidor and a light anise scent in the background. This has razor-sharp delineation. The palate boasts a silky texture on the entry that immediately caresses the mouth. There is very fine depth here, displaying a mixture of red and black fruit mixed with marmalade and allspice as it fans out wonderfully toward the finish. If you intend to drink this, a) decant it, and b) invite me. Otherwise, cellar this for several years before broaching.

Jamessuckling.com

99

par James Suckling le 03/02/2025

This shows purity of fruit with energy and focus. Medium-bodied, it has a precise and micro-polished palate giving refined, seamless tannins that are very silky and tensioned. Wow. Touches of iron, black pepper, hazelnuts and some finely etched wood spices and cream that will take a few years to digest. Hints of dark earth/mushrooms, citrus and black sesame as well. Long, vibrating and beautiful, with focus at the end. A more approachable young Pomerol, but it will hold beautifully for the next 20 years. Drink from 2028.

Vinous

98

par Antonio Galloni le 28/01/2025

The 2022 Le Pin is a very pretty, sexy wine. The richness of the year is evident in the wine's super-ripe profile and textural feel. Blackberry jam, spice, apricot, black tea, new leather, chocolate and a kiss of French oak build in a sumptuous, potent Pomerol. The 2022 will need time to be at its best. To be sure, extreme heat and drought do not present the most optimal conditions for an early-ripening variety such as Merlot, especially on gravel. The 2022 is a decidedly exotic Le Pin and a wine that will thrill hedonists.

Wine Maniacs

100

par Lin Liu le 30/05/2023

Decanter.com

97

par Georgina Hindle le 25/05/2023

Concentrated fruit, ripe blackcurrants and soft bramble touches with delicate perfumed aromas on the nose. Smooth and supple, more straight and sleek than the nose suggests with an appealing hit of mouthwatering acidity on the mid palate giving life and energy balanced by an intense saline minerality that gives edges to the firm tannins. This opens after a few minutes, becoming more expressive and complex adding graphite, cocoa, liquorice, flint, floral touches and succulent red fruits to the mix. Poised, happy, joyful, captivating and lively. Very impressive. Doesn't quite carry the weight of others but this is stunning with a lightness of touch and extreme polish. 3.77pH. 3.0g/L total acidity. Ageing in barrels, 65% new, 35% one wine. Harvest 6 - 17 September. A yield of 29hl/ha.

Alexandre Ma

97-99

par Alexandre Ma le 17/05/2023

In the 2022 vintage, I initially expected a Le Pin with immense power; however, it offers me an elegant violet right from the start. The delicate toasted notes couldn't conceal the passion of the ripe berries. Before I even finish swirling the glass, I find myself enveloped by baskets of blueberries, cherries, and black goji berries. The refined tannins provide incredible smoothness, revealing hints of licorice and clove as they lingered. The sweetness of Le Pin is not intensified by the arid heat of 2022; instead, it displays remarkable elegance amid sweltering conditions, blossoming like a rare, resilient flower in the fire.

Vinous

96-98

par Neal Martin le 17/05/2023

The 2022 Le Pin was picked 6 to 17 September at 29hL/ha, pure Merlot as usual matured in 65% new oak. It has a quasi-Burgundian bouquet, extremely pure and floral, fleeting glimpses of blueberry and blackcurrant, very perfumed in style. The palate is medium-bodied with a concentrated, verging on viscous opening that delivers a payload of gorgeous, mineral-rich black fruit. Wonderful balance, velvety in texture, it leans toward a more opulent Le Pin. This disguises the backbone of this wine that should ensure it matures over many years. Seriously fine, though I would take Jacques Thienpont's comparison to the 1945 or 1947 Le Pin with a big pinch of salt.

The Vintage Journal

97-98

par Andrew Caillard MW le 17/05/2023

Deep crimson. Wax varnish, graphite, dark plum espresso wax polish aromas. Fleshy soft wine with sweet dark berry chocolate panerforte flavours with salted liquorice/ ansieed notes and supple sweet tannins. Graphite at teh finish with mineral/ saline notes. 100% Merlot 65% new oak 14.4% alc

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

97

par Jane Anson le 16/05/2023

Delivers the plush texture of Le Pin, with rippling cassis and blueberry fruits, bitter slabs of chocolate, slate, crushed rocks. The extreme ripeness of the year seems effortless at a property that knows how to capture your attention, and how to draw velvety tannins around intensely spiced fruits. A slow build through the palate, need to take your time to explores the depths of this wine, give it time. Expertly structured and intense. Harvest September 6 to 17, here yield 29hl/h, 3.77ph, 65% new oak. Potential upscore in bottle.

matthewjukes.com

19,5

par Matthew Jukes le 15/05/2023

The Wine Independent

97-99

par Lisa Perrotti-Brown le 15/05/2023

The 2022 Le Pin, 100% Merlot with a yield of 29 hl/ha and aging in 65% new oak, is deep garnet-purple in color. It gallops out with bold, expressive scents of baked black plums, black raspberries, and juicy blackberries, leading to suggestions of cinnamon toast, violets, menthol, and cedar chest with a waft of garrigue. The full-bodied palate is generously laden with layers of black fruits and earthy accents, framed by firm yet velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and spicy. This is so seductive. pH 3.77.

Yvesbeck.wine

98-100

par Yves Beck le 10/05/2023

D'entrée Le Pin 2022 annonce de la gourmandise… et de la fraîcheur. Il brille de sa définition, de sa précision et je pense que l'on a rarement atteint de tels niveaux de pertinence à Le Pin ! Le terroir graveleux profond y contribue évidemment, l'élevage très subtil également, car il est bien là mais s'efface face au fruit, tout en continuant d'agir en coulisses. Dès les premières secondes le vin souligne son qualificatif de bourguignon bordelais. Il révèle des nuances de cerises et de garrigues puis une touche florale. En bouche tout est axé sur la finesse… et la densité. Les tannins sont denses, racés et en phase avec la tension de la structure. Je pense qu'en 2022, Le Pin se démarque clairement de Pomerol. Il met en avance Le Pin avant l'appellation. Que de finesse, de précision. Le vin est cristallin, précis, subtil, puissant et imposant dans sa manière de mettre en avant son élégance. Une très grande réussite qui termine sur de la salinité, de la fraîcheur et de la persistance.

Bettane & Desseauve

97

par Bettane & Desseauve le 10/05/2023

Fusion de suavité, de vibration, de profondeur et de vitalité, avec des tannins racés, nobles, enrobés dans une matière pleine de distinction florale.

Jeb DUNNUCK

95-97

par Jeb Dunnuck le 10/05/2023

As always, the 2022 Château Le Pin is 100% Merlot, but the amount of new oak has been pulled back substantially in the past few vintages, and the 2022 is still resting in just 65% new oak. This Burgundian styled Merlot reveals a healthy ruby/purple hue as well as a beautiful bouquet of spiced red and black fruits, background oak, dried flowers, and loamy earth. Medium to full-bodied, restrained, incredibly elegant, and balanced, with fine tannins, it's another remarkable, singular wine from this château.

Vinous

94-97

par Antonio Galloni le 09/05/2023

The 2022 Le Pin is racy and nicely textured, but it also comes across as somewhat closed. I suspect a sulfur addition three weeks before tasting explains much of the wine's reticence. There is almost certainly more to the 2022 than this tasting suggests. Needless to say, I am very curious to taste this again down the line. Drinking window : 2032-2052

The Wine Cellar Insider

98-100

par Jeff Leve le 05/05/2023

Quite floral in nature, it is the vivacious nature, sensuality, and freshness in the fruits that stand out. Picture, velvety-textured, black plums with dark chocolate, saffron, orange peel, cumin and black raspberries that caress and paint your palate with layers of fruit. There is a sublime sense of purity, paired with elegance and vivacity that sticks with you in the precise finish for close to 60 seconds. Produced from 100% Merlot, 14.4% ABV, 3.77 pH, the harvest took place September 6 - September 17. Yields were only 29 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2026-2055.

Wine Advocate

96-99

par William Kelley le 02/05/2023

The elegance and harmony of the 2022 Le Pin took me aback. Harvest began at this small estate on September 6th, proceeding bit by bit until all 10 blocks were picked, and the resulting wine is maturing in 65% new oak. Wafting from the glass with aromas of minty blackberries and cassis mingled with hints of licorice, spices and rose petals, it's medium to full-bodied, bright and fleshy, with a sensual, seamless profile and terrific integration at such an early stage. It's one of the finest vintages at this address in the last decade or more.

Jamessuckling.com

99-100

par James Suckling le 19/04/2023

Such is the ripeness and richness of the vintage but the wine remains so fresh and balanced. Medium-bodied with subtle and juicy tannins. It's a little fuller-bodied than the perfect 2020 but it is just as weightless and gorgeous. Cashmere texture throughout. Only 65% new wood.