100

Antonio Galloni

Vinous

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. 12/2022

96

Neal Martin

Vinous

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. 12/2022

94

William Kelley

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate

This estate occupies a well-draining, early-ripening site, and the 2020 Le Pin is certainly marked by the warmth and sunshine of the vintage, offering up a rich bouquet of jammy plums, kirsch, figs and licorice framed by a generous application of creamy new oak. Full-bodied, broad and expansive, it's rich and gourmand, with a layered mid-palate framed by plenty of powdery structuring tannin. While it can't match the purity and precision of the 2019, it's a strong effort. 04/2023

95

Jean-Marc Quarin

Jean-Marc Quarin

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.

100

James Suckling

James Suckling

The complexity of the wine shows incredible aromas of perfectly ripe tannins and fresh flowers such as lavender and rose stem. Mineral. Stone. Hints of wet earth and fresh bark. Subtle and complete. So much incredible character. Concentrated center palate. Weightless at the end. Perfect wine. You want to drink the bottle but it will age for decades. 05/2023