Dark purple color. Aromas of dark cherry, black currant, blackberry, and mint. Similar flavors but lacking complexity or persistence. Much like the bottle tasted a couple months prior, however, I found this time, the wine's palate improved after the wine aired for more than four hours.
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Purple, glass-staining, closed for the first hour or so then opened with blueberries, currant-cherry syrup, mineral and mint. Palate offers a bitter attack followed by a rapid and light fruit fade. Almost imperceptible finish. I enjoyed the bouquet but found the palate to be lacking.
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Powerful and in its adolescence. Elegance, fruit, some wood, mild spiciness and mild earthiness. Rich, balanced, good acidity, well integrated tannins, length. A really fantastic wine, great PQ.
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Pronounced nose intensity with notes of vanilla, black fruits, black currant, granite. Medium+ acidity and medium+ tannin. Tannin is smooth. Just entering drinking window.
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Bordeaux 2012 (By SS in the Ertepeller.): In the bouquet some red berries, oak and coffee. On the palate red and dark berries, herbs and spices, some bell pepper, good acidity and tannin. Beautiful wine.
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Bordeaux 2012 - 10 Years On - 33 Reds: All wines tasted blind. Not decanted. A few observations: 1) 2012 is a good quality vintage without the depth/length of great vintages. Still, one of the better “off-vintages”. 2) Many but not all wines are drinking well today. They are generally open, round and fleshed out. 3) Further cellaring is advised as there are hardly any tertiary aromas yet and that extra complexity will render the wines more interesting. The wines generally have the structure and fruit to age gracefully. 4) The level of ripeness/alcohol are not a concern (09, 10, 15, 18 have more problems in that area). 5) Left bank (avg. 92.2 pts) beats right bank (91.0) (group has right bank a notch ahead). The overall group avg. score is at a good 92.1, but unsurprisingly below past retrospectives of better vintages (00, 09, 10). 6) There are highlights on both sides: my best wines today were Ausone (96 pts), Mouton (96), Cheval (95) and Margaux (95).
TN: Not very expressive nose, not much coming through. With time very ripe fruit and oak shine through. On the palate this lacks fruit, is too acidic and the tannins are slightly coarse. Not much depth and expression. No winner. This was the weakest wine of the tasting. The 84 pts seem rather generous.
Decanting: Not sure if more air would have helped here. But I would at least try to give it an hour or two.
Group rank: 33rd out of 33 reds Group average score: 88.3
More information, vintage comparisons, top and worst 10 list, appellation rankings from the group in the story link.
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Bordeaux 2012 10 years on tasting: A 2012 Bordeaux vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector. Main observations were: 1/ Left bank beats right bank thanks to Paulliac, St Estèphe and Margaux, 2/ (over-)extraction was a frequent issue, making this a vintage where winemaking decisions and skill mattered, 3/ as such, unsurprisingly, first growths and right bank equivalents clearly outperformed the pack, 4/ highlights were Ausone (97) followed by Cheval Blanc, Mouton, Pichon Lalande (all 96), 5/ the lowlight was an over-extracted Pape Clement (88). Complete ranking and additional observations included in the tasting story.
Tasting note: Rather dark berry fruit with pretty high extraction and concentration, but also a nice red cherry element. A bit of mint, vague aging notes. Extraction was also reflected in the high octane palate which lacks harmony with plenty of acidity and tannin, but without the aromatic intensity to match.
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A serie of superb Old World wines (Amsterdam): Young, noticeable new wood, combines power with lots of fruit, showing even some sweet puppy fat, at the moment positively chunky; although missing some subtlety at the moment its future is bright.
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This is drinking extremely well now. Very primary still, subtle hints of tertiary notes coming through - it's very well integrated, much less tannic than it was a few years ago... Perhaps skill of the winemaker is showing? This is a really good St Em, with minimum 3+ years before it really hits its prime for a balanced showing between primary and tertiary flavours, with probably 10+ years of life on it minimum.
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a pinch of sea salt, soil, maduro leaf, cherry taffy, blackberry liquor and oak chai spice thing,the balance is great, the phrase, iron fist in a velvet glove, comes to mind.. i was 25 years old when i chugged this down..carry on my friends...i paid 50 bucks back then lol
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Youthful bouquet with cherries, dark forest fruits and vanilla. On the palate a beautiful wine with good fruits, acidity and tannin, but in fact still much too young. Good future ahead and I hope to taste this again around 2022+.
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It's only fair to open with a disclaimer that I've never consumed a Le Pin, to frame this review in. This was my first taste into the world of the Thienpont wines, and it doesn't disappoint. A complex flavour - very young still, a large amount of decanting suggested (but expected given the prime drinking age) - the nose of the wine is brilliant. For a wine that was released low-key and has only developed the reputation it comes with through merit and not hype, it is brilliant. It has great potential to age and for what is only the second vintage from the chateau, this is a marvelous effort.
Opening nose of truffles, dark fruit, the taste itself quickly evolves into a powerful cherry flavour with a strong silky element, decaying after fifteen or twenty seconds into a complex almost slightly minty flavour. Stunning. The best rated wines I've had outside of this are 98 point Chateauneufs for example, and I would have to say the complexity in this easily rivals them. It will be interesting to see where this goes in the next few years, but keeping a close eye on the vineyard.
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Deep ruby in color, the wine is tightly wound at the moment requiring air and coaxing to reveal its complex nose of fresh herbs, flowers, thyme, truffles and dark red berries. On the palate, the wine is elegant, silky and refined, with a purity of fruit in the sexy, black, red and white cherry finish. There is good length in the end note. The style of the wine produced here is focused on elegance over power. While they took over the estate in 2010, this is only the second, official vintage for Jacques Thienpont, but the first year where they started to become satisfied with the results.
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Drank it the same day I bought it with lamb loin chops Provençal style. Excellent for the money... Still tight and took a while for it to balance out. Should be great in about 7-8 years. Will buy more.
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3/30/2024 - Musinus wrote: 88 Points
Dark purple color. Aromas of dark cherry, black currant, blackberry, and mint. Similar flavors but lacking complexity or persistence. Much like the bottle tasted a couple months prior, however, I found this time, the wine's palate improved after the wine aired for more than four hours.
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1/19/2024 - Musinus wrote: 86 Points
Purple, glass-staining, closed for the first hour or so then opened with blueberries, currant-cherry syrup, mineral and mint. Palate offers a bitter attack followed by a rapid and light fruit fade. Almost imperceptible finish. I enjoyed the bouquet but found the palate to be lacking.
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9/19/2023 - maaike2 wrote: 94 Points
Powerful and in its adolescence. Elegance, fruit, some wood, mild spiciness and mild earthiness. Rich, balanced, good acidity, well integrated tannins, length. A really fantastic wine, great PQ.
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7/11/2023 - Sean Tay wrote: 94 Points
Pronounced nose intensity with notes of vanilla, black fruits, black currant, granite. Medium+ acidity and medium+ tannin. Tannin is smooth. Just entering drinking window.
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12/18/2022 - GFischmann Does not like this wine: 89 Points
Totally worn out and flat
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10/16/2022 - Zweder wrote: 91 Points
Bordeaux 2012 (By SS in the Ertepeller.): In the bouquet some red berries, oak and coffee. On the palate red and dark berries, herbs and spices, some bell pepper, good acidity and tannin. Beautiful wine.
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8/13/2022 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 91 Points
Clearly young but like the elegance of this wine. Very smooth.
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3/8/2022 - Cailles wrote: 84 Points
Bordeaux 2012 - 10 Years On - 33 Reds: All wines tasted blind. Not decanted. A few observations: 1) 2012 is a good quality vintage without the depth/length of great vintages. Still, one of the better “off-vintages”. 2) Many but not all wines are drinking well today. They are generally open, round and fleshed out. 3) Further cellaring is advised as there are hardly any tertiary aromas yet and that extra complexity will render the wines more interesting. The wines generally have the structure and fruit to age gracefully. 4) The level of ripeness/alcohol are not a concern (09, 10, 15, 18 have more problems in that area). 5) Left bank (avg. 92.2 pts) beats right bank (91.0) (group has right bank a notch ahead). The overall group avg. score is at a good 92.1, but unsurprisingly below past retrospectives of better vintages (00, 09, 10). 6) There are highlights on both sides: my best wines today were Ausone (96 pts), Mouton (96), Cheval (95) and Margaux (95).
TN: Not very expressive nose, not much coming through. With time very ripe fruit and oak shine through. On the palate this lacks fruit, is too acidic and the tannins are slightly coarse. Not much depth and expression. No winner. This was the weakest wine of the tasting. The 84 pts seem rather generous.
Decanting: Not sure if more air would have helped here. But I would at least try to give it an hour or two.
Group rank: 33rd out of 33 reds
Group average score: 88.3
More information, vintage comparisons, top and worst 10 list, appellation rankings from the group in the story link.
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2/7/2022 - sirpat00 wrote: 89 Points
Bordeaux 2012 10 years on tasting: A 2012 Bordeaux vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector. Main observations were: 1/ Left bank beats right bank thanks to Paulliac, St Estèphe and Margaux, 2/ (over-)extraction was a frequent issue, making this a vintage where winemaking decisions and skill mattered, 3/ as such, unsurprisingly, first growths and right bank equivalents clearly outperformed the pack, 4/ highlights were Ausone (97) followed by Cheval Blanc, Mouton, Pichon Lalande (all 96), 5/ the lowlight was an over-extracted Pape Clement (88). Complete ranking and additional observations included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
Rather dark berry fruit with pretty high extraction and concentration, but also a nice red cherry element. A bit of mint, vague aging notes. Extraction was also reflected in the high octane palate which lacks harmony with plenty of acidity and tannin, but without the aromatic intensity to match.
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12/18/2021 - swaqqer wrote: 91 Points
Did not quite open up despite 3 hrs of decant.
Had high hopes as its a label by Le Pin owner.
Had E'glise Clinet, La Conseillante and Talbot at the same session and all 3 drank better than L'if
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12/8/2021 - schan109 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Imperial (6L) format, decanted with unknown time. Quite easy drinking with some complexity.
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5/15/2021 - Wino133 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Really nice. Very young still, clearly a long life ahead of it.
30 min of air and I'd guess it needs an hour or two easily to be ready to drink.
Body is just a shade thin but probaably a testimonal to the vintage. Will update.
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2/25/2021 - FransS wrote: 94 Points
A serie of superb Old World wines (Amsterdam): Young, noticeable new wood, combines power with lots of fruit, showing even some sweet puppy fat, at the moment positively chunky; although missing some subtlety at the moment its future is bright.
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8/12/2020 - Wino133 Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is drinking extremely well now. Very primary still, subtle hints of tertiary notes coming through - it's very well integrated, much less tannic than it was a few years ago... Perhaps skill of the winemaker is showing? This is a really good St Em, with minimum 3+ years before it really hits its prime for a balanced showing between primary and tertiary flavours, with probably 10+ years of life on it minimum.
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3/22/2018 - Opusone99 wrote: 92 Points
Belle bouteille!
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9/16/2016 - ABOVETHEINFLUENCE wrote:
a pinch of sea salt, soil, maduro leaf, cherry taffy, blackberry liquor and oak chai spice thing,the balance is great, the phrase, iron fist in a velvet glove, comes to mind.. i was 25 years old when i chugged this down..carry on my friends...i paid 50 bucks back then lol
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6/10/2016 - Zweder wrote: 92 Points
Youthful bouquet with cherries, dark forest fruits and vanilla. On the palate a beautiful wine with good fruits, acidity and tannin, but in fact still much too young. Good future ahead and I hope to taste this again around 2022+.
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7/11/2015 - Wino133 Likes this wine: 93 Points
It's only fair to open with a disclaimer that I've never consumed a Le Pin, to frame this review in. This was my first taste into the world of the Thienpont wines, and it doesn't disappoint. A complex flavour - very young still, a large amount of decanting suggested (but expected given the prime drinking age) - the nose of the wine is brilliant. For a wine that was released low-key and has only developed the reputation it comes with through merit and not hype, it is brilliant. It has great potential to age and for what is only the second vintage from the chateau, this is a marvelous effort.
Opening nose of truffles, dark fruit, the taste itself quickly evolves into a powerful cherry flavour with a strong silky element, decaying after fifteen or twenty seconds into a complex almost slightly minty flavour. Stunning. The best rated wines I've had outside of this are 98 point Chateauneufs for example, and I would have to say the complexity in this easily rivals them. It will be interesting to see where this goes in the next few years, but keeping a close eye on the vineyard.
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7/6/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Deep ruby in color, the wine is tightly wound at the moment requiring air and coaxing to reveal its complex nose of fresh herbs, flowers, thyme, truffles and dark red berries. On the palate, the wine is elegant, silky and refined, with a purity of fruit in the sexy, black, red and white cherry finish. There is good length in the end note. The style of the wine produced here is focused on elegance over power. While they took over the estate in 2010, this is only the second, official vintage for Jacques Thienpont, but the first year where they started to become satisfied with the results.
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4/27/2015 - Philippe_C wrote: 94 Points
Nose of menthol, black chocolate, very black fruit, vanilla...very black fruit, incense, nice freshness, ripe tannins, nice lenght
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8/29/2014 - GFWeaver wrote:
Drank it the same day I bought it with lamb loin chops Provençal style. Excellent for the money... Still tight and took a while for it to balance out. Should be great in about 7-8 years. Will buy more.
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