Chateau Le Pin - Le Pin - Ex Chateau 2021

JAMES SUCKLING: "This is really pure and primary with very clean and bright aromas of crushed grapes. Minerally and floral with brightness and vividness. Just a hint of smoke and meat. Medium-bodied with a tight and poised center palate and a racy finish. Structured in a classic, great Bordeaux way. Needs five or six years to come together and soften, but this is seamless and wonderful. Drink after 2030 and beyond."

WEINWISSER: "Guillaume Thienpont präsentierte einen ausgezeichneten Le Pin, der mittlerweile mit reduziertem Neuholzanteil gereift wird. 65 % für den 2021er, 80 % für den 2020er, davor waren es immer 100 % neue Barriques. Dunkle, satte Farbe, superfein und elegant, duftet der Le Pin 2021 mit delikater, tiefgründiger Frucht und burgundischem Charakter. Superfein und seidig, mit dunkelfruchtigem Merlot-Geschmeide im Vordergrund und feinsinniger roter Komponente im Hintergrund. Supersaftig und klar, beginnt er mit cremiger Textur auf der Zunge, umrahmt von eleganten Gerbstoffen, total auf Finesse und Balance ausgerichtet, mit berstender Frische. Guillaume nennt diese Struktur ‚al dente‘, nicht zu reif, nicht zu weich, alles knackig und detailliert. Lang und ewig fein bringt der 2021er den Le Pin-Charakter mit großer Persistenz auf den Punkt. Pur und nahtlos, superdelikat und seidig, etwas zarter als der üppig verführerische Vieux Château Certan, den Guillaume ebenso verantwortet."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2021 Le Pin needs a few swirls to release evocative scents of juicy black and red plums, black cherries, and black raspberries, giving way to fragrant scents of red roses, cinnamon stick, black truffles, and underbrush, with a touch of cardamom. The medium-bodied palate is filled with vibrant black berry layers and red berry sparks, framed by gorgeous, ripe, rounded tannins and amazing freshness, finishing long and perfumed. This wine is a breathtaking achievement, considering the challenges of this vintage."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2021 Le Pin has turned out beautifully in bottle, bursting with aromas of raspberries and blackberries mingled with notions of pencil shavings, spices, black truffle and licorice, framed by a discreet touch of new oak (only 55% new this year). Medium to full-bodied, ample and enveloping, it's suave and sensual, with a fleshy core of fruit and beautifully refined tannins and concludes with a long, rose-inflected finish. Le Pin, after all, is an early-ripening, well-drained terroir, so it's hardly surprising that it should perform especially well in a vintage like 2021."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Frische Noten von Herzkirschen, zarte Brombeernuancen, ein Hauch von Edelholz, Lakritze und etwas Nougat. Saftig, feine rote Beeren, finessenreich strukturiert, seidige Tannine, zart nach Ribiseln, mineralisch-seidig im Abgang, sehr gute Länge, ein von Frische und Delikatesse geprägter Wein. Könnte man vom Fleck weg genießen."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Cinnamon, flowers, licorice, roses, plums, and cherries with espresso, black raspberries, and fresh, leafy herbs create the array of notes in the perfume. On the palate, the wine is fresh, bright, soft, polished, elegant, and refined. The tannins are silky, and the fruits are pure and vibrant, with a crisp, almost crunchy quality to the sweet cherries, cocoa, and orange rind in the finish. The wine was produced from 100% Merlot, 13.4% ABV. The harvest took place September 25 - October 4. Yields were 35 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2025 - 2045."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Poised and perfumed with porcelain finesse. Floral aromatics, appetising fruit with freshness and lift, very fine tannins. Harmonious if not hugely intense but should develop further. As is often the case, a burgundian air."