1988 Château Le Pin
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Tasting notes
The 1988 Le Pin was often overlooked, but it is a great Pomerol that gives much pleasure. This might actually represent the best example. Curiously, it dupes you into thinking there is some Cabernet Franc on the nose, and in fact, I mistook this for a Vieux Château Certan that was in the same flight. Plenty of ripe black fruit, hints of black truffle shavings and just a touch of graphite appear on the nose. The palate is beautifully balanced with pliant tannins, gaining complexity seemingly with every swirl of the glass. The precise finish makes a discrete nod to what you might term "more restrained Napa". Simply delicious. Tasted at the 1988 Bordeaux dinner at Noble Rot Mayfair.
Critic scores
Wine Spectator
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
This is the third time that I have tasted the 1988 Le Pin, a wine always destined to be overshadowed by the twin titans of 1989 and 1990. That is probably unfair because the 1988 is a perfectly fine Pomerol in its own right. It has a bewitching bouquet with blackberry, cloves and earthy black fruit, which here morph into roasted chestnut aromas. It blossoms in the glass, yearning to please and observed over an hour, it gains a little meatiness. The palate is medium-bodied and nicely balanced with its truffle-laced black fruit and a pleasant salinity. Yes, it is a little masculine and stoic compared to other vintages of Le Pin, but this classically styled wine will please those who prefer their Pomerols to be well-mannered and not too brash. A classicist Le Pin. Tasted July 2014.
Classic Pomerol, with brown sugar, meat, berry and olives. Orange rind. Explosive nose. Full and very soft and silky. So long and rich, with great finesse. Dense and refined, yet wild and exotic.¿'88/'98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Drink now. 500 cases made. James Suckling,Wine Spectator2009
Tasted at Bipin Desai’s Le Pin vertical in Los Angeles. This is a very fine ’88 Pomerol. The nose is well defined, better than the last bottle I encountered with touches of cedar, mint and sous-bois, developing subtle gamey aromas in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with firm structure on the entry, a citrus edge lending it freshness and vitality with good focus. A charming Le Pin, it has an agreeable sous-bois character on the slightly dry finish. Good length. A Le Pin that must be imbibed over a meal rather than on its own, certainly one that reflects the personality of the vintage. 460 cases made Drink now-2016. Tasted November 2008. Neal Martin, eRobertParker.com
About the producer
Owned by Jacques Thienpont, Le Pin is, without doubt, one of the most famous names in wine. One of the three great names of Pomerol, alongside Pétrus and Ch. Lafleur, it is one of the rarest, most expensive and finest wines in Bordeaux – if not the world.