CHÂTEAU LE PIN
2019 Pomerol
The 2019 Le Pin is more oak-driven on the nose than its peers, creamy black cherries and blueberry fruit, lacking the intellect that one might have expected at this stage. The palate is medium-bodied with a lot of oak tannins, creamy with a torrefactory, singed leather element towards the finish. I don't quite understand this Le Pin at the moment and wonder how it will evolve? A great wine being outmaneuvered by its peers at the moment. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2019 Le Pin is magical. Soft, seamless and exceptionally beautiful, the 2019 is riveting right out of the gate. The wine's balance is just mind-blowing. In this vintage, the new oak is down to 80%, which works so well here in helping release an extra kick of freshness. Red/purplish fruit, rose petal, blood orange, mint, lavender and sweet spice build into the dramatic, sweeping finish. In a word: magnificent! Drinking range: 2031 - 2049 Rating: 98 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)
The 2019 Le Pin is a Pomerol that I did not taste out of barrel when samples were being sent, so the first time I encountered it was with Jacques Thienpont in his office, together with his new right hand, Diana Berrouet-Garcia. It has a fragrant nose of brambly red fruit, touches of sous-bois and hints of dark chocolate emerging with time in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, moderate weight and a touch of black pepper and clove, the former becoming more prominent toward the finish. Cohesive throughout; perhaps the alcohol (14.7°) blurs a little of the definition, but this still feels reassuringly long and sensual. Gorgeous. Drinking range: 2025 - 2050 Rating: 95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)
An explosion of fruit and exotic spice, as is so often the case with this wine. I am tasting this at a relatively cold temperature and yet still the tannins are silky, creamy and supple, extremely impressive. As it opens, campfire smoke, hints of petrol and passion fruit, nuanced black truffle, rosemary, blueberry and black cherry fruits. This is perfumed and envelops the palate, coming in waves, just a brilliant Le Pin. 100% new oak. Drinking range: 2028 - 2048 Rating: 99 Jane Anson, Decanter (Jan 2022)
Château Le Pin
Mme Loubie had owned a dilapidated house and a few vines, just north of Catusseau, for decades, selling the produce off to go into generic Pomerol blends. Little more than basic care had been taken of the vineyard, and most of the vines were rather old, whilst expensive insecticides and herbicides had been unaffordable. When Mme Loubie died in 1978, Jacques Thienpont spent the incredible sum of one million francs on the 1ha of vineyard and a tatty old house and chai. The first vintage of Le Pin was the 1979, aged in cast-off barrels from Vieux Château Certan. From 1981, Le Pin was aged in 100% new wood. 1982 was 1982, and the lavish praise heaped on Le Pin by Robert Parker (it’s a 100 point wine) and others propelled Le Pin into the big time. The original 1ha has slowly and surely been augmented by further adjoining purchases, taking the vineyard area up to 2.7ha. It is all the classic clay soil of the Pomerol plateau, with a high iron oxide content. Le Pin is always 100% Merlot. Le Pin is one of Bordeaux’s, indeed the world’s wine, icons with a reputation only matched by Petrus in Pomerol. Production is still tiny, and demand very high.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2025. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.