Château Le Pin 1999
Chateau Le Pin, or simply Le Pin, is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Pomerol. The unusually small estate is located on the Right Bank of France's Gironde estuary in the commune of Pomerol near the hamlet of Catusseau, Chateau Le Pin is frequently one of the world's most expensive red wines.
Madame Laubie, whose family had owned Chateau Le Pin since 1924 sold the one hectare vineyard in 1979 to the Belgian Jacques Thienpont for 1 million francs. The vineyards were developed by Jacques Thienpont whose family own the neighbouring Vieux Chateau Certan, and the wine at Chateau Le Pin was produced in tiny quantities from a farmhouse basement. The property was already called Le Pin from a solitary pine tree that grows near the winery. Today the estate comprises 2,7 hectares in one contiguous vineyard surrounding the winery. In 2011 a new winery, designed by the Belgian architectural practice Robbrecht en Daem architecten, was inaugurated using small microcuves and gravity to move Chateau Le Pin wine.
Chateau Le Pin is considered by some a predecessor of the "garage wines", although this idea is rejected by many, including by the proprietors, on the basis of the merits of the terroir, and the absence of extreme measures to compensate for mediocre grapes.
Chateau Le Pin occasionally the most expensive wine in the world, continually receiving high wine ratings from wine critics and produced in extremely small numbers, Chateau Le Pin bottles are a constant presence on the wine auction market.
The winery is currently managed by Jacques Thienpont, and additional tiny plots of land have been acquired. Chateau Le Pin is among the clients of the oenologist Dany Rolland, wife of Michel Rolland.
Vineyard
Surface area: 5 acres
Grape Varieties: 92% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc
Average age of vines: 28 years
Density of plantation: 6,000 vines per hectare
Average yields: 34 hectoliters per hectare
Average cases produced: 600 per year
Plateau of maturity: 8 - 25 years
Château Le Pin 1999 Reviews / Tasting Notes
Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate
Point Score: 93
This is an example of a wine that has gained considerable weight since I tasted it in 2000 and 2001. It is exotic and sexy, with a cunning display of super-ripe mocha and toast-infused, jammy black cherry fruit, low acidity, and a savory personality. It appears ready to drink, but will undoubtedly take on more delineation and structure as its ages in the bottle. It is a luxuriously rich, decadent 100% Merlot that will be at its finest between 2004-2015.
Wine Spectator
Point Score: 94
Delivers decadent aromas of meat and berry, with hints of new leather. Full-bodied, featuring very soft tannins and a long finish. The palate shows lots of richness. Very yummy now. Don't wait. Unique and very seductive. '89/'99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now. 500 cases made.
Stephen Tanzer - Vinous
Point Score: 92-94
Component #1, from 15-year-old vines: Ruby-red. Sappy black fruits, tar, flowers and spices on the nose. Compellingly sweet, thick and long, finishing with thoroughly fine tannins. Component #2, from 35-year-old vines. Ruby-red. More reticent berry and floral aromas. Altogether more serious in the mouth; snappy, spicy and very deep, with superb flavor intensity and good backbone. Very long and sweetly oaky on the aftertaste. An approximate blend of the final wine: Full ruby-red. A basket of berries and flowers on the nose. Fat, sweet and thick, with spicy red cherry and griotte flavors given clarity by lively, harmonious acids. A wine of terrific verve and clarity, rich but miraculously light on its feet. Alexandre Thienpont believes the pH is lower than that of the '98. Great sap and class.