Today, Le Pin is such a well-established member of the pantheon of the world’s greatest wines, it’s interesting to recall that it wasn’t always thus. Under its previous owner, a Mme F Loubie, the wine had been blended with lesser wines and sold exclusively in Belgium as Clos du Pin. Mme Loubie wanted to sell it to Leon Thienpont so that he could join it with Vieux Chateau Certan but, with six children to support, there was no way Leon could afford it. In 1978, Mme Loubie died. Leon suggested to his brother, Marcel, that he buy the vineyard and, in the end, Marcel bought it together with his brother, Gerard, and son, Jacques.

The first vintage was 1979 but it wasn’t until the 1981 was bottled that it found a receptive buyer in the shape of UK merchant, Richards Walford. England became the dominant market but that didn’t mean it was easy to sell. Mark Walford recalls sitting on over 100 cases of the 1982 vintage at a time when their cashflow was particularly tight. Their selling price was £120 a case. Although it eventually achieved global stardom largely thanks to Robert Parker, he originally bestowed a parsimonious 88 points on the 1982 vintage, and – according to Neal Martin – it was a French journalist, Jacques Luxey, who first identified its immense quality, describing it as the `DRC of Bordeaux`. Those early vintages were made with only the most basic of facilities and meagre of budgets but the end of the 80s witnessed a triumvirate of outstanding wines that catapulted Le Pin into the very highest echelon.

Through our relationship with Mark Walford, we’ve had an enviable allocation of Le Pin for many years. Prices start out high but with production about a quarter that of rival Petrus, tend to appreciate over time and have proved a good investment over and over again. It may be a small production and relatively new wine but its influence is huge – it has helped define what Pomerol is today. In its youth, it’s a wine that can appear breathtakingly decadent but with age comes a certain austerity – a bewitching combination with its Burgundian texture. (AR 11/08/23)