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Wine Description
The Story
Château Le Pin, or simply Le Pin, is an unclassed Bordeaux wine from the appellation Pomerol. There has never been an official classification of Pomerol. Even so, Chateau Le Pin commands prices that put it at levels equal to the best wines of Bordeaux. The unusually small estate is located on the Right Bank of France’s Gironde estuary, and its wine is periodically one of the world's most expensive red wines. Le Pin was the first of the "garage wines" or microchateau that have become cult collector wines. These wines defy the traditional classifications.
Madame Laubie, whose family had owned the plot since 1924 sold the vineyard in 1979 to the Belgian Thienpont family for 1 million francs. Developed by Marcel and Gérard Thienpont on less than 2 hectares, wine was produced by microcuvée from a farmhouse basement. The property was given the name Le Pin by the Thienponts from a solitary pine tree that shades the property. By acquiring tiny adjoining plots of land, Jacques has doubled the size of Le Pin to five acres.
Occasionally the most expensive wine in the world, continually receiving high ratings from wine critics and produced in extremely small numbers, Le Pin bottles are a constant presence on the wine auction market. Le Pin produces just 600 to 700 cases each year.
Currently managed by Jacques Thienpont, additional tiny plots of land have been acquired. Some years no wine is produced.
Vintage 1996
1996 presents itself as a “classic” Bordeaux year, although – as Jancis Robinson MW wrote – not in the “lean” sense; Although Farr Vintners director Tom Hudson told the drinks industry it may have been a "very good" rather than "really great" year as it was not uniformly excellent across the region .
As a reminder, 1996 was a particularly promising vintage for Médoc wines. The Berry Bros & Rudd website boasts: “This is one of the great post-war vintages for Médoc Cabernet wines. These are rich, complex and beautifully balanced wines, full of ripe, pure fruit and with the structure that will allow the best wines to age over the next decade and beyond.
The Right Bank, on the other hand, is described as “distinguished” but “overshadowed” by the 95s – which was a particularly good vintage for Saint Emilion and Pomerol.
It was also an excellent vintage for white Bordeaux.
Robert Parker's scores tend to favor the Left Bank, although some of the best Right Bank wines have also received very respectable reviews.
Only two wines received 100 points: Lafite and Latour, Margaux was ranked 99, Léoville Las Cases 98, Ducru Beaucaillou 96 and Pichon-Comtesse 96.
La Mondotte was the highest rated right bank wine with 97 points, Ausone was the second highest rated with 93, as was L'Eglise Clinet, while Gomerie, Petrus and Le Pin settled for 92 and Cheval Blanc 90 .
With almost 20 years, the wines have naturally appreciated and now that they are well within their drinking window, demand will almost certainly start to push prices even higher for the most in demand among them.
The figures are often impressive, to date Lafite has seen an increase of 657.9% since its release, its second wine Carruades is up 592%, Latour is up 437%, Petrus is up 400% and Pichon Baron is up 240%. %.