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. 02/2023

The 2020 Le Pin is a smaller production of 4,000 bottles this year, a combination of lower yields and half a hectare pulled up because of court-noué virus. There is also less new oak at 70% and it was bottled in June. It has a precocious and quite opulent bouquet with layers of pure black cherries, blueberry, crushed violet and a touch of freshly-tilled loam. The palate is medium-bodied with sculpted tannins, fleshy and poised, the new oak succinctly assimilated (an astute decision to moderate that) with a lick of Valrona chocolate towards the finish. Very persistent in the mouth, this is a superb Pomerol from the Thienponts. 02/2023 The 2020 Le Pin, tasted with Jacques Thienpont in Pomerol, is limpid in the glass. It has an impressively pixelated nose with layers of dark plum, raspberry, slate and subtle potpourri scents. Unlike some recent vintages, this politely asks you to be patient and then unfurls at its own stately pace. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. This does not set out to be a powerful Le Pin, but it gently builds to deliver a very precise, quite spicy finish that has very long persistence. Superb salinity on the aftertaste, not a million miles away from Lafleur despite the differences in composition (“Don’t ask me why…” commented Jacques Thienpont when I enquired about that aspect.) Give this 4-6 years in bottle and watch it blossom over many. 05/2021

Couleur sombre, intense et pourpre. Nez très aromatique, au fruité mûr. Le vin file droit en bouche, avec du goût, un toucher raffiné et beaucoup d’allure dans la saveur plus que dans la chair. Ici pas d’argile. 100 % merlot. Degré d'alcool : 14°5 - pH : 3,77. Rendement : 14 hl/ha.