Pétrus vs. Le Pin - Matchplay 1996-2002 - with pirates

This was one of the bi-monthly tasting events organized by Switzerland's most prolific Bordeaux collector. As usual, all wines were served blind. Present during this tasting was Jean-Marc Quarin (www.quarin.com), a leading wine journalist from Bordeaux. A "pirate" was included in each flight to see how they compare to these ueber-expensive Pomerols.

• 1996 Pétrus 86 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Nose of earth and with a bit of a funky musty tone. On the palate medium bodied with soft tannins but pronounced acidity. Lacks weight and lift.

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• 1996 Château Le Pin 86 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Nose of dark fruits with a metallic, alcoholic to note, some truffles. On the palate wood and acidity dominate the fruit. I guess I sign of the difficult 96 right bank vintage

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• 1996 Vieux Château Certan 86 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Nose of dark fruits with some wood and herbs. A bit lean on the palate, quite conservative on the fruit.

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• 1997 Pétrus 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Earthy nose with some bretty tones, cedar box. Medium bodied with soft mid palate but a bit light weight. Not very long

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• 1997 Château Le Pin 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Quite complex nose of dark fruits, cassis and toast. The palate cannot match though and is a bit thin. Aromatically more attractive than structurally.

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• 1997 Château Lafleur 84 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Nose dominated by oak, some dark fruits with green peppers. On the palate quite lean with dominating oak

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• 1998 Pétrus 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Expressive nose of chocolate, vanilla, cherry, full and ripe. On the palate dense and soft but with a bit overripe notes. Good but did not hit me as great as it should be tonight.

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• 1998 Château Le Pin 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Deep nose of dark fruits, chocolate and oak, very Merlot. On the palate full bodied with ripe fruit and complex aromas, good balance and length.

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• 1998 Vieux Château Certan 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Nose remenicent of CabSav dominated by quite some wood. On the palate medium bodied with not a lot of lift and lengh.

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• 1999 Pétrus 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Nose of earth, wood and cedar, quite complex but not a lot of fruit. On the palate medium bodied with good balance. Good but not great, may add a point or two with age though.

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• 1999 Château Le Pin 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Expressive nose of dark fruits, chocolate and cherry, again very Merlot. On the palate not as strong with quite and alcoholic finish.

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• 1999 Château L'Eglise-Clinet 86 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Closed nose revealing hints of dark fruit and some wood, very reductive. On the palate medium bodied with some granular tannins. Needs more time but will probably never be a good wine.

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• 2000 Pétrus 100 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Expressive nose of dark fruit, chocolate, and dried fruit, very charming despite being young. On the palate a true bombshell of aromas, soft and full bodied with fruit dominating, conspicuously Merlot (dark fruit, plum, smoke, chocolate), not CabSav. This is clearly in the "as good as it gets" category.

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• 2000 Château Le Pin 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Expressive nose of black fruits, ink, with exotic spices. On the palate soft and full bodied with good fruit. Very nice but aromatically not nearly as complex as the other two wines in the flight (Chateau Petrus, Chateau Margaux).

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• 2000 Château Margaux 100 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Tasted blind. Expressive nose of red and black fruit with exotic spices and meat. On the palate medium-full bodied with great balance, freshness and grip. Exploding aromas, complex with extraordinary length. Wine of the flight of the flight of the night!

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• 2001 Pétrus 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Very primary nose still. Dense and reductive on the palate with black fruits, cherry, almost new worldly. Complex. This can go places once mature. 94+

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• 2001 Château Le Pin 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Nose of dark fruits with quite some alcohol noticeable. On the palate medium-full bodied with good fruit but only medium lengh.

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• 2002 Château Palmer 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Tasted blind. Expressive nose of dark fruits, cloves and bread/toast, complex and seductive. On the palate medium bodied with good balance, soft tannins and complex earthy, smoky notes, looks like a wine with some CabSav. Very strong showing.

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• 2002 Pétrus 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Nose of cherry with a touch of wood. Very good entry on the palate with good volume and mouth feel, slightly strong tannins.

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• 2002 Château Le Pin 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Expressive nose of dark fruit with creme de cassis, very appealing. On the palate quite full with great mouth feel, hints of cherry. A very strong showing for 02.

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• 2001 Château La Conseillante 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Tasted blind. Very closed nose of dark fruits, quite closed. On the palate, again tight, medium bodied. I guess this is a wait.

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Take away:
- 2000 as the undisputed star vintage
- 2002 surprisingly strong showing of this below par vintage
- 2001 showing good potential
- Chateau Palmer and Margaux did well as pirates
- Le Pin and Pétrus still cost a fortune in mediocre years, so better hands off then.