6 Vintages Le Pin vs Petrus vs Lafleur vs Other Pomerol

All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.

Overall Rankings / Avg. Score
1) Le Pin 4x 1st, 1x 2nd, 0x 3rd - Avg. score 94.0 pts
2) Lafleur 1x 1st, 3x 2nd, 2x 3rd - Avg. score 93.7 pts
2) Other Pomerol 2x 1st, 0x 2nd, 2x 3rd - Avg. score 92.7 pts
2) Petrus 1x 1st, 1x 2nd, 1x 3rd - Avg. score 92.2 pts

2004 Flight
1) Le Pin 94 pts
1) Trotanoy 94 pts
3) Lafleur 92 pts
4) Petrus 89 pts

2006 Flight
1) Lafleur 93 pts
1) Petrus 93 pts
3) Eglise Clinet 86 pts
4) Le Pin 84 pts

2008 Flight
1) La Violette 96 pts
2) Le Pin 96 pts
3) Lafleur 94 pts
4) Petrus 90 pts

2009 Flight
1) Le Pin 97 pts
2) Lafleur 95 pts
3) Petrus 94 pts
4) Clos L’Eglise 93 pts

2010 Flight
1) Le Pin 97 pts
2) Lafleur 95 pts
3) Conseillante 94 pts
4) Petrus 93 pts

2011 Flight
1) Le Pin 96 pts
2) Petrus 94 pts
3) Lafleur 93 pts
4) Lafleur Petrus 92 pts

• 2004 Château Trotanoy 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Quite intense nose with lots of herbs and minerality, dark fruits and sexy, toasty oak notes, some blue fruits mix in. On the palate this is very fresh and round, wonderfully creamy and superbly weightless. Not the highest complexity but very precise blue and dark red fruit, round and creamy, herbs and minerality to compliment and a touch of oak. Lots of fun to drink and with 94/95 pts on the same level as Le Pin 2004. Yes, it does not have the stuffing of a great vintage but is darn delicious to drink today.
  
  Decanting: Good from the go. A short decant should do the job.

  Post a Comment / 4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2004 Pétrus 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: I didn’t like this wine that much. On the nose and palate the wine showed not well integrated but especially with lots of oak and too much extraction. There is some substance and a good creaminess, but I can’t help but think that they tried it too hard in 2004. 88/89 pts in my book but others liked it a bit better than I do.
  
  Decanting: Maybe a long decant would have helped here.

  Post a Comment / 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2004 Château Lafleur 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Very ripe, intense dark red fruits and dark fruits notes, some hints of blue fruit, cola, herbs, and a bit of oak. Not my favorite nose but intense and quite precise. On the palate lots of not yet fully integrated oak, mixed with minerality, very ripe dark fruit, some spices and herbs. Fine tannins, high tension and freshness, creaminess but not my favorite profile as it seemed a bit too ripe and extracted. But I appreciate the complexity. Just seemed a bit too pushed. 92 pts at best. Trotanoy and Le Pin 2004 (both rated 94 pts) showed more harmonious and round.
  
  Decanting: Quite open from the go. A short decant should be sufficient.

  Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2004 Château Le Pin 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Wow nose, so much luxurious toasty oak notes, coffee, blue and and dark red fruits. The nose is spectacular. The palate it can’t keep up with the nose. Lots of cola, ripe red fruit, bubble gum, herbs, floral notes. Nicely layered, good precision, quite fine tannins and roundness, creamy but with not enough freshness to be perfectly balance. 94 pts, same as Trotanoy 04 which, however, is the more complete wine. The Le Pin gets the points mainly for the nose.
  
  Decanting: Open from the start. No extensive decanting needed.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2006 Pétrus 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Quite ripe, not overly-well defined nose with ripe dark fruit, some cola and herbs. Better on the palate which shows quite fresh and round, creamy yet with enough tension. Cool blue fruit, ripe dark red fruit, some spices and crushed rocks. Quite nice, round and complete with fine tannins. No superstar but probably a superstar of the vintage. 92/93 pts.
  
  Decanting: A short 1-2 hours should do the job.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2006 Château L'Eglise-Clinet 86 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: I’m not a big fan of the Eglise Clinets before 2009 and this 2006 was no exception. Quite ripe, some alcohol heat, herbs. Not an overly pleasant nose. Very extracted, ripe even though it has some blue fruit. Slightly drying. I had no intention to spend more time with this wine and explore it further. 86 pts at best.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2006 Château Le Pin 84 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Others liked this better than I did but I found soy sauce, broth (getting stronger by the minute). Either it was not an ideal bottle or the wine is on a fast downward path already. Underneath, the structural frame was good and there was some nice fresh blue and red fruit still there.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2006 Château Lafleur 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Rather uninspiring, non-descript nose. On the palate this is the cleanest, most precise wine of the flight displaying fresh fruit, herbs, minerality. As all 2006s not that complex. Round but slightly coarse tannins, good freshness, ok creaminess, medium length with fruit and rocks. Overall, this is no winner but certainly a good wine with a bit more potential. 92/93 pts
  
  Decanting: My guess is, that this would have been better with 2-3 hours in the decanter.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2008 Château Lafleur 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Extracted, nutty, ripe dark fruit nose. Herbs and minerality to compliment. On the palate quite fresh and round, beautiful creaminess and enough tension. Again nutty notes, some toast, ripe dark fruit, some herbs. Overall quite good but not the most complex wine and a slightly abrupt finish. 93/94 pts.
  
  Decanting: Like most Lafleurs this needs time to open up. I guess it would have been better with 2, 3 hours in the decanter.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2008 Pétrus 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Over-extracted, a bit of heat, very ripe fruit, very extracted, slightly drying. This doesn’t warrant 90 pts but on the other hand it showed quite complex, especially on the palate with a beautiful minerality backbone. Some said this to be slightly lactic and faulty, I didn’t get that but still, no winner.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2008 Château La Violette 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Totally toasty oak, coffee sexiness, dark fruit and chocolate sexiness. Herbs and minerality. Lots of cola. Some chocolate with time. Ever so slightly changing. Spectacular precision and spectacular nose overall. Very sensual on the palate. Super fresh and light, almost weightless, super minerality and an herbal which nicely balance the coffee, toasty notes and the ripe dark red fruit. Additional some floral notes. So much more intensive with time. Superb wine with a long and expanding finish. Overall great, balanced and easily 97pts. The 2008s are drinking so well on the right bank.
  
  Decanting: Open from the start. No extensive decanting needed.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2008 Château Le Pin 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Ripe but a bit indescript nose at first but with time more wonderful blue fruit comes out. Fresh and ripe at the same time. On the palate this shows fresh strawberries, some fresh blue fruit. Herbs, minerality. Quite complete. But as with so many other right banks, the slightly cooler growing season brings a level of freshness the hotter vintages of the first decade, when winemaking was often focused on power and extraction, don’t show. 96 pts, probably slightly below the 2008 La Violette (rated 97 pts) but still, the Le Pin was the only glass I finished.
  
  Decanting: Open from the start. No extensive decanting needed.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2009 Pétrus 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Intriguing nose with a strong herbal component, dark berries, ripe red fruits, some cola notes. The palate is wonderfully creamy, paired with superb freshness embedded in a fine tannin structure. Very balanced and round but probably only medium+ complex with layers of dark and red berries, crushed rocks and herbs. The only real downer is, that I also had some alcohol heat on the nose and palate. I’m very sensitive to these notes and don’t like it all and hence, this is not in the 95-100pts category for me. 94 pts. A bottle 3 years ago didn’t had that problem and was drinking on a 96 pts level.
  
  Decanting: My guess is that 2, 3 hours in the decanter are needed to bring more out.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2009 Château Le Pin 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Le Pin usually shows very luxurious coffee and toasty notes on the palate mixed with ripe but not too ripe dark and red berries. In 2009 that is all a bit more intense but still not over the top. A complex and very sensual nose. On the palate a rainbow of aromas with ripe red berries, blue fruit, floral notes, minerality, herbs, toasty notes. Still ripe(r than other vintages) but not as ripe as the nose suggested and not as ripe as many other right bank wines in 2009, and even with nice blue fruit notes and floral aromas you don’t usually get in hotter vintages. Highly complex, so perfectly delinated. Very fine, velvety tannins, lots of tension, high freshness, superbly creamy. It is not as light and weightless as in other vintages but still not excessive in any way. This is a very complete wine which will still need to flesh out a bit over the next decade or two. 96/97 pts, consistent with a bottle 3 years back (rated 96 pts).
  
  Decanting: A short decant should do the job.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2009 Clos l'Église (Pomerol) 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: This is quite a sexy 2009 with lots of chocolate and oaky notes and loads of ripe but not overripe fruit on the nose and palate. The nose needed a bit of time and was never fully convincing but the round and harmonious palate showed quite good and complete. All in all, it held up well against its Pomerol heavyweight neighbors in this vintage and was drinking well but of course it did not have remotely as much complexity, a bit lower precision and was a touch less fresh and light too. Nevertheless, a very good wine. 92/93 pts
  
  Decanting: A short decant should be sufficient.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2009 Château Lafleur 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: I particularly like this vintage of Lafleur. Same as a bottle a few years back this showed so weightless and fine, especially considering the hot vintage. In this tasting, without much more than 20 minutes time to focus on the four 2009s, the nose never really fully opened up but the palate the wine was on fire. Same as a bottle a few years ago (rated 95 pts), this is among the less ripe 2009s right bank with so much bright red berry and floral notes, usually not associated with a hot vintage. The structure is impeccable, the elegance high, the freshness is there. From start to the long finish, this has a lot of tension without being excessive in any category. The very precise herbal and fresh minty notes lend the wine even more freshness and keep it light. As with all Lafleurs tonight, the complexity could not keep up with the Le Pin but not necessarily because it is not there but because Lafleurs just need more time to develop and open up and are less in your face hedonistic. A very promising wine.
  
  Decanting: This would have needed a few hours in the decanter.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2010 Château Lafleur 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Medium+ expressive nose with ripe dark red fruit, herbs, some minerality. At first a bit shy, with time slightly more open but the others in the flight definitely had a more expressive and intriguing nose than this Lafleur. On the palate, however, this is superb: so floral and light, so soft and finely red fruited, with minerality and an herbal component perfectly measured to complement the picture. Very precise. Round and sensual, highly elegant with very fine tannins, weightless feel but with the perfect creaminess. Fresh and light. Got more expressive and slightly more complex with time but it became obvious with every minute that this wine would have been much better with a longer decant or much more time to follow it. Finley laced and superb. 95 pts. Consistent with a bottle two years ago (96 pts).
  
  Decanting: At least 3 hours, potentially even more would be best, in my opinion. Better wait another decade or two.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2010 Château La Conseillante 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: At first a fairly muted nose. With time mostly herbal and mineral driven with ripe dark red fruit underneath. On the palate, this is so fresh and almost weightless. Ripe dark red fruit, herbs and minerality in many layers. I thought that due to the freshness and many herbal aromas it might be the Lafleur with more Cabernet Franc than the La Conseillante. Very fine tannins, high freshness, creamy and fresh, good tension. A fruit and mineral-driven finish which resonantes for quite some time. At first it started with 92/93 pts. With time and more complexity, it got better and reached the 94/95 pts category. Consistent with previous bottles (rated 94 and 95 pts).
  
  Decanting: At least 2, 3 hours, potentially even more would be best, in my opinion. Better wait another decade or two.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2010 Château Le Pin 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Smoky nose, reductive nose, cola, floral, blue fruits, minerality, herbs. Very complex, but subtle. On the palate this is very nice, round, without excess in any category. Beautiful red berries, but also some blue fruits, floral notes, dark red fruit, minerality, smoke, forest floor, hints of tobacco, some sensual toasty notes. The structure is impeccable with round, elegant, fine tannins, ahigh freshness, creamy and complete. An impressive, expanding finish. A like the complexity and cooler blue fruit which the other 2010s didn’t show. This is a spectacular wine, the most complex one of the whole tasting and all that paired with incredible precision and an almost perfect structure. 97/98 pts. And my guess is that if I could have followed that wine over a long time, the score would have been even higher. For many, including me, it was the best wine of the night. It showed even better than a bottle two years ago (rated 96 pts).
  
  Decanting: Good from the go. There is so much substance that doesn’t seem to need a lot of time to reveal itself. My guess is that a short decant would be sufficient here.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2010 Pétrus 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: This Petrus had a tough stand after the fantastic Le Pin in the glass before. It showed much less expressive, especially on the nose which almost was non-existent. A bottle two years back (rated 95 pts) showed more open. Luckily, the palate had more to give with ripe dark berries, some hints of chocolate, minerality and a refreshing herbal component. But never as open and complex as the Le Pin or the Lafleur. The wine had a good freshness, good balance, nice creaminess but the tannins didn’t seem fully ready and will need more time to soften. My guess is that this would have needed a lot of time in the decanter to shine although some in our group seemed to like it much more than I did.
  
  Decanting: My guess is that 3-4 hours in a decanter would have helped here.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2011 Château Le Pin 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Explosive nose with so much intensity, lots of coffee, toast, wrapped around a ripe but not too ripe dark fruit core, some herbs too. On the palate this is very elegant and light with not the same high intensity, lots of herbs and some minerality, no hard edges, good freshness and good tension. Super creaminess. Medium+ length. With time, the palate gets more intense displaying same sexy and hedonistic toasty notes. Yes, they worked with a lot of oak here but it’s still such a classy, elegant and balanced wine that gets better and better by the minute. Overall a very strong wine, easily worth 96 pts, consistent with a bottle last year at a 2011 retrospective tasting (rated 97 pts), which Le Pin won.
  
  Decanting: Good from the go but improved with time in the glass. A short decant should do the job.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2011 Château Lafleur 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Intense nose with lots of green bell pepper, herbs, minerality with some darker fruits in the background. Some floral note too. With time the nose gets cleaner, lots of cola, minerality, some spices. On the palate this shows very fresh, lots of tension, nice creaminess. The fruit takes the backseat as it is all about herbs and minerality. Medium length only. At first this was not drinking on a 93 pts but this wine got better by the minute and my guess that 30 more minutes in the glass and this could have crushed the competition.
  
  Decanting: Lafleur generally needs a lot of age and time to fully open up. My guess is that this would have needed 2-3 hours in the decanter. At least.

  Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2011 Pétrus 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Ripe and hedonistic nose, strawberry and dark cherry compote, some herbs and minerality. Not as expressive as the others in the flight on the nose but very noble. On the palate this is very fresh and round, a nice creaminess and with lots of tension. Fine ripe dark red fruits, some brighter red fruits, floral notes, chocolate notes, lots of minerality. Round and balanced and very beautiful. It could be more expressive and intense but it is still a great wine. This was the most complete Petrus of all tasted today, even if it’s certainly not the one with the most substance. 94/95 pts today, a bit weaker than a bottle tasted last year (96 pts).
  
  Decanting: Good from the go but improved with time. Needs 1-2 hours in the decanter.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2011 Château La Fleur-Pétrus 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
  
  TN: Very interesting bubble gum nose, lots of spices, very intense. Very singular. Some red fruits notes underneath. On the palate this shows the same intense bubble gum notes, some floral notes, spices, chocolate. A bit strange and at the same time intellectually appealing. The structure is without fault. 92/93 pts. Most others didn’t like it at all.
  
  Decanting: Good from the go. Doesn’t seem to need much air.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue