2015 L'If | FINE+RARE Wines

6x75cl

0 Immediate | 8 Marketplace

£1,040.00

Scores + Notes

Average Score

Drinking window

2022-2035

Critic Notes

This is very intense and mineral on the palate with so much salt and white pepper character. Full and powerful. A great and structured L’If. Mar 2016, www.JamesSuckling.com

Score: 97-98/100James Suckling

The gentle Le Pin touch is increasingly evident in the wines from this four-hectare St. Emilion property. Floral, elegant and well balanced, this is textured and sweet, with striking oak integration, notes of blueberry, plum and orange zest and fine-grained tannins. Apr 2016, www.timatkin.com, Drink: 2022-2030

Score: 94-/100Tim AtkinDrinking Window: 2022-2030

The 2015 L'If is a striking, super-finessed Saint-Émilion, largely because of the 30% Cabernet Franc in the blend that gives the wine its striking aromatic lift. Silky tannins wrap around a core of raspberry jam, dark cherry, spice and menthol in a mid-weight, finessed Saint-Émilion built on understatement and a real sense of feminine grace. In 2015, the sugars were slow to finish, so the wine is still not fully formed, but it is impressive just the same. New oak is 50%. Apr 2016, www.Vinous.com

Score: 91-94/100Antonio Galloni

Same owners as Le Pin. 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc. Fifth vintage under Jacques Thienpont's ownership. 2012 was the first vintage sold en primeur. Lots of replanting. Only 4 out of 8 ha in production, of which only 2 ha made L'If in 2015. Blackish crimson. Very dense and intense - with some polish and masses of seduction. Rich and powerful. Sort of like a cross between a St-Émilion and a Le Pin in terms of texture. Powerful. Lots of freshness as well as the seduction. Definitely the best so far! Apr 2016, www.JancisRobinson.com, Drink: 2024-2035

Score: 17-/20Jancis RobinsonDrinking Window: 2024-2035

About The Producer

The producer

Chateau Le Pin

Château Le Pin is, without doubt, one of the most famous names in wine. A vinous icon and one of the three great names of Pomerol alongside Pétrus and Château Lafleur. Today it is one of the rarest, most expensive and finest red wines of Bordeaux – if not the world. Le Pin produces just 600 to 700 cases each year, a truly minuscule quantity that is dwarfed in comparison to the First Growths of the Right Bank. To put this amount into perspective, even the relatively rare neighbouring Pétrus makes around 4000 cases per year.

Interview with Nicolas Audebert of Domaine de l'Ile

Just over 25 years ago, French fashion house CHANEL entered into the world of fine wine, purchasing the largely underperforming Margaux Second Growth estate Château Rauzan-Ségla. Two years later they acquired the Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé, Château Canon. They have since turned these properties into two of the most in-demand fine wines in Bordeaux today. Last year CHANEL embraced ...

BY Gavin Smith,

ON April 30, 2020

Château Ausone: The Ethereal Estate of Saint-Émilion

Visiting Chateau Ausone during En Primeur Week, we were fortunate enough to spend some time with owner Alain Vauthier and his son Edouard (who has grown up working at the Chateau) to discuss the changes afoot at Saint-Emilion’s most prestigious address. Chateau Ausone has, without question, been producing some of the finest wines in the world for many decades, but ...

ON April 12, 2019

The high life: Martin Donatsch

There is such domestic demand for the wines of Domaine Donatsch that they are rarely seen outside Switzerland. Tucked in amongst the Alps, this property makes world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that gives Burgundy a run for its money. Gavin Smith spoke to winemaker and owner Martin Donatsch about the extraordinary site and life on the slopes Few people have ...

BY Gavin Smith,

ON February 19, 2021

Steven Spurrier: a life in wine

As Steven Spurrier publishes his memoirs, we talk to the wine merchant turned writer about a life dedicated to wine and why he can’t stop buying art Steven Spurrier might be approaching 80, but his wit, quill and tongue are as sharp as ever. While – as is now the norm – we spoke on the phone, there is ...

BY Sophie Thorpe,

ON December 11, 2020

Roberto Voerzio: Once-in-a-lifetime Opportunity

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a high-scoring collection of magnums from Roberto Voerzio; signed, personalised and enormously collectable... FINE+RARE are extremely proud to offer an exclusive ex-domaine selection, direct from Piedmont’s legendary Roberto Voerzio. We have secured three back-vintage selections in magnum format, each representing one of Voerzio’s rarest cuvées: Barbera Pozzo Annunziata, Barolo Sarmassa and Barolo Capalot e delle ...

ON February 24, 2017

Product Details

Country

France

Region

Bordeaux

Sub-region

St Emilion

Colour

Red

Taste

Dry

Alcohol %

Product Type

Still wine

Product Subtype

Drinking Window

2022-2035

Country

France

Region

Bordeaux

Sub-region

St Emilion

Colour

Red

Taste

Dry

Alcohol %

Product Type

Still wine

Product Subtype

Drinking Window

2022-2035

Average Score

Drinking window

2022-2035

Critic Notes

This is very intense and mineral on the palate with so much salt and white pepper character. Full and powerful. A great and structured L’If. Mar 2016, www.JamesSuckling.com

Score: 97-98/100James Suckling

Score: 94-/100Tim AtkinDrinking Window: 2022-2030

Score: 91-94/100Antonio Galloni

Score: 17-/20Jancis RobinsonDrinking Window: 2024-2035

The producer

Chateau Le Pin

Interview with Nicolas Audebert of Domaine de l'Ile

BY Gavin Smith,

ON April 30, 2020

Château Ausone: The Ethereal Estate of Saint-Émilion

ON April 12, 2019

The high life: Martin Donatsch

BY Gavin Smith,

ON February 19, 2021

Steven Spurrier: a life in wine

BY Sophie Thorpe,

ON December 11, 2020

Roberto Voerzio: Once-in-a-lifetime Opportunity

ON February 24, 2017

Country

France

Region

Bordeaux

Sub-region

St Emilion

Colour

Red

Taste

Dry

Alcohol %

Product Type

Still wine

Product Subtype

Drinking Window

2022-2035

Country

France

Region

Bordeaux

Sub-region

St Emilion

Colour

Red

Taste

Dry

Alcohol %

Product Type

Still wine

Product Subtype

Drinking Window

2022-2035