DRC Tasting Group: Le Pin

Cafe Veloce
Tasted Monday, February 11, 2013 by dpolivy with 667 views

Introduction

While normally a DRC tasting group, we're starting to expand into Bordeaux in alternate months. To get things started, we found a 1989 Le Pin, supplemented by a variety of other right-bank wines. All wines except Le Pin were tasted blind.

Flight 1 - Le Pin (1 Note)

Le Pin was decanted, poured, and savored over the course of the entire tasting.

  • 1989 Château Le Pin 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Consistent red color, with just a touch of fading at the edges. Very pretty initially, showing hints of mocha, coffee, and some chocolate. Super soft and elegant on the palate, but still with good fruit. A touch of tartness initially on entry, eventually it evolves into very fine round tannins framing a lengthy finish. After some time (1+ hours), the nose started to turn more towards brown sugar, molasses, and caramel. Really quite enjoyable!

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Flight 2 - The Main Lineup (12 Notes)

All wines were tasted blind, typically in flights of two (2) at a time. Order was random.

  • 2006 Château La Conseillante 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Nice nose of blackberry, kirsch, and some earthiness. Subtle oak. Very soft and elegant on the palate with good fruit -- still tasting quite young and a bit tight. Fine, refined tannins match with good acids on the finish, though still a bit light right now.

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  • 1990 Château Lagrange (St. Julien) 89 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

    Totally barnyard on the nose. Overpowering Brett. Some good red fruit on the palate. Finishes with big, drying tannins.

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  • 2000 Château La Garde 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Some light VA and red fruit on the nose. Very pretty. Soft, round body with lots of red fruit. Light, drying tannins on finish, but overall not a lot of structure.

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  • 1999 Château Cheval Blanc 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    Fragrant fruit and oak on the nose, but elegantly balanced. Lots of red fruit and bright acids on the palate. Lacking a bit of structure at this point, it is definitely quite young! The finish is wrapped in red raspberry and creme, and very fine tannins. Yum!

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  • 2003 Château Monbousquet 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    Darker fruits and barrel spice on the nose. Big and serious wine. A touch of Brett, but it integrates nicely with the palate and doesn't overpower. Darker body, with fine tannins. Med+ finish.

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  • 1998 Château Monbousquet Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    Sadly, this bottle seemed to have some TCA taint evident on the nose. The body was still nicely textured -- big, rich and juicy, with medium tannins and good structure. What little fruit was there went fast. Seems like it might have been promising...will have to hope my second bottle doesn't suffer the same fate!

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  • 2005 Château Larcis Ducasse 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    Big, rich, and ripe. Blackberry, plum, juicy dark fruits on the palate. Mouth coating, round body with ripe tannins. Mouthwatering acidity after the lengthy finish. Nicely balanced. Good now, curious to see how it ages.

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  • 2005 Château Chauvin Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    Oxidized/flawed. Umami, soy sauce dominant on the nose. More of the same on the body--very savory. No fruit left.

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  • 1964 Château Haut-Brion

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Smoky, nutty aromas on the nose. You can definitely smell the age. More toasted nuts and savory notes on the body. Interesting, for sure.

    Questionable provenance on the bottle.

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  • 1988 Château L'Evangile 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Lots of barrel spice and weedy characteristics on the nose. Rich, velvety body wrapped in chocolate. Moderately structured, the wine finished with fine tannins and a bit of tartness (acids?).

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  • 2006 Château Fonplégade 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    Nice nose of red and black fruits. Big structure and tannins, with a nice deepness and softness on the palate. The alcohol is definitely present on the body. Med+ finish with med acids. Hedonistic, new world style, but very enjoyable.

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  • 2000 Château Clinet 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Fragrant, aged nose with a touch of cigar box. Nice red fruit elegance, good concentration/ripeness. Light tannins and med+ finish. A bit tart on the body and finish, though.

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Flight 3 - The Finisher (1 Note)

Nothing like following up all those big reds with a nice, refreshing Chablis.

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