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Le Pin 2005 (750ML)
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Critic Scores, Reviews & Descriptions
98 WA / 98 JD / 97 WCI / 96+ WI / 94 WS / 18.5 JR
Tasted at Bipin Desai’s Le Pin vertical in Los Angeles. A magnificent Le Pin, deep garnet/ruby in colour. The nose has the clarity of crisp spring morning with notes of red fruits, violets, minerals, gravel and just a hint of dark chocolate that I have not picked up before. This is more Burgundian than I recall. The full-bodied has a velvety smooth entry and then you are gob-smacked by the concentration married with poise and tension. If anything, this 2005 has put on weight over the year with layers of strawberry, black plum, blueberry and cassis. The finish has a firm grip, a Pomerol that says: “don’t mess with me”. A tremendous wine that I am certain will continue to get better and better with passing years. 550 cases made. Drink 2015-2030+ Tasted November 2008.-Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate
The 2005 Château Le Pin is all Merlot from a tiny vineyard just across from Vieux Château Certain and was raised in new barrels. It has a massive nose of ripe blackberries, kirsch, saddle leather, smoked tobacco, and Mediterranean herbs that turns more floral and violet-laced with air. Medium to full-bodied and beautifully balanced on the palate with ultra-fine tannins, it has an almost Burgundian-like elegance and seamlessness as well as incredible length. It’s not the biggest example from vineyard yet it shows the inherent quality and elegance of the Chateau. Drink bottles over the coming 15-20 years.-Jeb Dunnuck
Walk into a truffle store, light up a Cuban cigar, pick up a basket of fresh blackberries and plums, take the fruit and remove all the water so you’re left with only the simple, pure essence of the berries, drizzle fresh tangerine juice, add velvet textures and soak your palate in it and you are tasting 2005 Le Pin. If this wine is this good now, I can only imagine what it will be like in 10 years.-Jeff Leve, Wine Cellar Insider
The 2005 Le Pin is deep garnet-brick in color. Starting off a little shy, the nose is primary and youthful, with a fair bit of oak still poking through. It eventually opens out to notes of black cherry preserves and stewed plums with hints of red roses, pencil shavings, and fertile loam. Medium-bodied, flamboyant, and remarkably young and plump in the mouth, it has a firm and grainy texture with seamless freshness and an epically long finish. While tempting to drink now, give it another 5-7 years to find its stride and drink it over the next 30 years+. Le Pin is a tiny, 6.5 acre estate high on the plateau of Pomerol, mainly composed of sand and gravel, and thus very well drained. Purchased by Jacques Thienpont in late 1970s, the first vintage was 1979. The style tends to be perfumed and exotic, delivering opulence without weightiness. Only 500 cases were made in 2005.-Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent
While I would not rank the 2005 Le Pin as highly as the 2001, 2000, 1998, 1989, 1983, or 1982, it is still a beautiful wine offering a deep ruby/purple color along with an open-knit nose of caramel, coconut, coffee, melted chocolate, and sweet, jammy black cherry and currant fruit. The alluring fragrance is followed by an opulent, luscious Pomerol with flamboyant flavors of ripe black fruits intermixed with hints of roasted herbs, meat juices, plums, and Asian spices. Unfortunately, the worldâãs billionaires quickly gobble up Le Pinâãs 500 cases, even at preposterously high prices. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025.
