Le Pin, Pomerol 2012

This is the essence of Le Pin with incredible silk texture and beautiful fruit. A berry, sweet-tobacco, chocolate and dusty undertone. It reminds me of many wonderful and underrated Le Pins of the 1980s like 1985 or 1986. What a wine. Better in 2018. But who can wait? Cystal clear. It’s like the 2001 that was always better than 2000.

A compelling, totally arresting wine, the 2012 Le Pin boasts superb texture, unctuousness and pure voluptuous beauty. The 2012 is effortless in the way it opens up in the glass, with generous sweet red cherry, plum, iron, smoke and licorice. Perhaps not as rich as some previous vintages, the 2012 is nevertheless racy and quite expressive, even at this early stage.

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 exhibits a surprisingly opaque purple color, moderately high tannin, deep mocha and jammy berry characteristics, unexpected headiness, an alcoholic blast and lots of glycerin and fruit. This beauty should come into its own in 4-5 years, and last for 15 or more.

This 100% Merlot cuvee is a fresher, lighter-styled effort than this estate’s blockbuster 2009 and 2010, but it is surprisingly intense with plenty of weight, clout and class. Yields were a tiny 30 hectoliters per hectare due to poor flowering and excessive drought), and the wine was produced from fruit harvested between October 2 and 5.

(100% merlot; 32 h/H; IPT 77; g/l total acidity; ph 3.8;13.5% alcohol): Bright ruby-red. Perfumed aromas of blackberry, flowers and chocolatey torrefaction. Bright and fresh in the mouth, with sweet black cherry and violet flavors that carry through nicely on the persistent back end. Finishes with slightly tight tannins that will need time to resolve. Although I love this wine's purity, I found this version of Le Pin to be noticeably less intense than the best recent vintages. Perhaps the elevage will help flesh it out a bit.