Le Pin
A cult Pomerol 'garage wine' from a tiny near-monovarietal Merlot vineyard, Le Pin is one of the rarest and most expensive wines in Bordeaux.
About Le
Le Pin is the most celebrated of Bordeaux's 'garage wines' — micro-cuvées made with obsessive attention on minuscule plots. Jacques Thienpont, of the Belgian merchant family long established on Pomerol's plateau, bought the roughly two-hectare property in 1979, and that vintage was the first to carry the Le Pin name, taken from a lone pine tree on the land. Planted almost entirely to Merlot, the vineyard yields only a few hundred cases a year, vinified with early barrel fermentation and rich, opulent extraction. Critical acclaim, notably from Robert Parker for the 1982 vintage, propelled Le Pin into the small circle of wines that rival or exceed the First Growths in price. Its scarcity, hedonistic style, and near-mythic reputation have made it a benchmark for the modern, terroir-driven micro-estate. Alexandre Thienpont, of neighbouring Vieux Château Certan, has long overseen the vineyard.
Flagship wines
- Le Pin
Editorial notes
Extremely scarce and among the priciest wines in the world; primarily a collector and auction wine. Counterfeits exist, so provenance matters when buying.