CHÂTEAU LE PIN
2024 Pomerol
100 Merlot: 65% new oak and 35% one-year-old: 13% alc: 29 hl/ha: 3.72 pH: Harvested in four picks between 20 and 29 September Jacques Thienpont explained that while they lost some potential crop from an uneven flowering, this concentrated the power of the wine somewhat, ratcheting up the flavours, resulting in a marvellously luxurious wine. These are confident vines, and they make a very confident wine. Cool, calm, sleek, and purple-ink-hued, this is a refined style of Le Pin, featuring a beautiful peacock’s tail of crimson and obsidian fruit. While it yearns to head to the dark side, it stays firmly on the velvety red side of the fence. This is a more forward and welcoming Le Pin than usual, and it already looks utterly ravishing. Rating: 19 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2025)
In Bond
75cl bottles (wood case of 1)
* 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.
This is like the amazing 1994 (a unicorn of the vintage) or the 1990, but more modern and precise. Medium-bodied with a fine, compacted texture, this shows green-olive tapenade and cedar. The tannins are so refined, running the length of the wine. In the 1980s, they used to say this was Burgundy- or pinot-like. It is, and in such a good way. Brings a nice smile to my face. Pure merlot. Only 13 barrels made. Rating: 96-97 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2025)
100 M 13% Plenty of bright ripe purple fruit with chalky clay and the terroir of Pomerol. Some liquorice and herbs with fresh red, black and blue fruit flavours of cherry and quetsche. Rich silky palate with pure poised red fruit. Palate-coating and with milk chocolate texture and depth. But it is the vibrancy of the fruit which shines through, as with L'If, this will be approachable in relative youth, but has the elegance and structure to endure. Exceptional performance in the vintage. Rating: 96 Rod Smith MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2025)
Vivid ruby plum, and here the fragrance is centred around dark fruits, cassis, bilberry, rose petals. Love the density and the texture, and the slow slow build. A more serious Le Pin than some years, exceptional quality in the vintage, and will age with finesse. The retro olfaction comes curling in with gunsmoke and graphite. The deep gravels of Le Pin came into play for sure in this vintage, helping reach these ripeness levels, and this is a potential upscore in bottle. 65% new oak, harvest 20 to 29 September. 3.72pH, 29 hl/ha. Drinking range: 2031 - 2046 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2025)
The 2024 Le Pin is aromatic and light on its feet, with lovely perfume but less in the way of mid-palate pliancy or persistence. Perhaps I caught Le Pin at an awkward stage, but my distinct impression is of a wine marked by elements of dilution and very fragile balance. Élevage will be critical. Wines like this can sometimes blossom in bottle, so we will see. I tasted the 2024 from three sample bottles with consistent notes. Drinking range: 2032 - 2049 Rating: 89-92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2025)
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 2024 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. 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. Many properties specify a standard case format, and may make additional charges for six-bottle cases, for example. We offer wood cases of six bottles as standard where these are available without extra charge, but we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. If you want six-bottle cases where a 12 bottle case is offered, please check for the extra case charge. 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
- +£9.50 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 2027. 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.