Château Le Pin 2020

Ripe, dark chocolate, floral scents, rich blackcurrants - heady but refined. Supple and racy on the palate, thrilling even, a livewire of a wine. A combination of bitter and sour, savouriness and acidity. Much more freshness than I was expecting with clarity and precision. Lean and sinewy but with a wide finish. Less sexy more suave and it knows it! Quality of the tannins is excellent and this caresses the palate comfortably. A seamless and glowing Le Pin.

The complexity of the wine shows incredible aromas of perfectly ripe tannins and fresh flowers such as lavender and rose stem. Mineral. Stone. Hints of wet earth and fresh bark. Subtle and complete. So much incredible character. Concentrated center palate. Weightless at the end. Perfect wine. You want to drink the bottle but it will age for decades.

100% Merlot. Cask sample. Typically seductive, with dense fruit and an opulent shape and texture. Aromatically alluring with zesty red fruit and floral notes, plus a hint of oak-driven chocolate. Tannins are very suave and dense. A touch of salinity brings balance, but the alcohol does show. (JL)

The 2020 Le Pin is magnificent. What a wine. Seamless and exotic, the 2020 races across the palate with sumptuous dark fruit and a whole range of rose petal, spice and hard candy overtones that build into the explosive mid-palate and finish. I especially admire how the 2020 opens with some aeration. New oak is down from 100% to 70%, which really allows the purity of the fruit to shine through. Yields were 30 hectoliters per hectare, down from the more typical 35 or so, but overall production for Le Pin in bottles is much lower, as about only half of the vineyards were used. The rest went into the second wine, with the exception of a small parcel that is being redeveloped. In short: What more can I ask from a wine? Nothing.

On the nose a fragrance cloud full of ethereal and herbal savouriness, balsamic, juniper, floral, sweet cherry. On the palate plump, creamy, lucullic soft on the one hand and then nevertheless with a fine, fresh drive build-up, full of texture and juiciness, a union of contrasts: freshness and ripe fruitiness, creaminess and substance, minerality and mildness. Immense potential. On the palate flavours are still closed because of its youth.

Immense richness and purity with violet, dark chocolate, layers of ripe dark berries and a very silky yet powerful palate, lingering and pure with remarkable finesse and tremendous length. Very complete already in this youthful stage should nonetheless continue to improve remarkably well.

A very profound, complex bouquet featuring fresh culinary herbs, lavender, dried rose petals, and a balsamic-herbal note paired with dark-berry nuances. The palate is tightly woven and dense, with a silky texture, a fine-meshed, cocoa-like tannic framework, well-structured drive, and a muscular body. The concentrated, long-lasting finish brings wild cherry, Brazilian tobacco, and dark chocolate – a Pomerol to dream about!

Le Pin 2020 has a deep garnet-purple color. It starts off a little subdued before erupting from the glass with powerful notes of plum preserves, blackberry compote, dark chocolate, smoked meats, and Indian spices, leading to touches of crushed rocks, black truffles, and cast-iron pan. The medium to full-bodied palate is densely laden with taut, muscular fruits, framed by very firm, ripe, rounded tannins and wonderful tension, finishing very long with loads of mineral and savory layers. Epic!

95-96

A nose that is both deep and playful, with aromas that ebb and flow like small, pleasantly warm waves breaking on your skin. The fruit shifts between blue, black and dark red—pure and sensual—with a deliciously spicy hedonism. Velvety on the palate, with the incomparable caress of Le Pin wines, offering fleshy, spicy, luxurious aromas and sumptuous notes of black cherry and mocha.

Jacques Thienpont presented the 2020 vintage of Le Pin as follows: In 2020, nature delivered an early-ripening vintage with very distinct seasons. A rather mild, dry winter led to this exceptional earliness. A very rainy spring resulted in low yields. Summer was marked by extreme drought, with no rainfall from 19 June until 21 September. While September felt decidedly summery, autumn arrived right on time. The return of rain on 21 September, along with cool temperatures, allowed the grapes to complete their ripening in optimal conditions. The bouquet stands out for its mineral expression, with graphite notes followed by a pleasant menthol freshness and then aromas of blackberries. On the palate, the wine shows velvety, compact, very precise tannins. They have a smooth, supple side, but above all they bring power. The palate is broad, yet not heavy, with supporting tannins. A round, generous and fresh wine with an expressive, persistent finish.

The nose is elegantly fruity, showing lovely delicacy and a silky richness. It reveals well-balanced concentration, a fine creaminess and a beautiful, refined texture. There are notes of creamy boysenberries, fairly ripe yet fresh wild small black fruits, and, more subtly, crushed strawberries, alongside touches of blueberries, sweet spices, delicate hints of star anise, and a subtle note of rose—almost geranium—along with pepper. A subtle hint that is almost toasted, even slightly powdery, emerges. It is a complex nose. The palate is fresh, with a tangy, acid-driven thread and minerality. There is precision, energy and fine definition, combining tension and power with delicacy. The wine offers a certain creaminess paired with a light, airy character that is perfectly balanced. The freshness allows notes of crushed raspberries to express themselves, along with chocolatey touches, fresh violets, and a subtle menthol and cocoa nuance in the very discreet background. The tannins are supple, indulgent and elongated. There is a lovely texture and a pleasing mellowness on the persistent finish. Gradually, a very discreet note—almost toasty, even toasted hazelnuts—appears in the background.

Logo on the cork: AL Dark, intense, beautiful color. Very aromatic nose, with ripe fruit, subtle and above all complex. Hints of flowers, cream, licorice, new oak, truffle. A very pure whole. Broad on the attack like never before, broad through the mid-palate, with graceful texture, a melting yet rich body, abundant flavors, all in tactile nuances, with a suave base where violet brightens the whole. Long, deep, very complex finish. Beautiful—and what’s more, impossible to spit out!

This estate occupies a well-draining, early-ripening site, and the 2020 Le Pin is certainly marked by the warmth and sunshine of the vintage, offering up a rich bouquet of jammy plums, kirsch, figs and licorice framed by a generous application of creamy new oak. Full-bodied, broad and expansive, it's rich and gourmand, with a layered mid-palate framed by plenty of powdery structuring tannin. While it can't match the purity and precision of the 2019, it's a strong effort.