2009 Le Pin: The Holy Grail of Pomerol

Le Pin is one of Bordeaux’s most coveted wines — a tiny-production, 100% Merlot from Pomerol that delivers remarkable texture, purity, and depth. For collectors, few bottles carry more intrigue than the 2009 vintage, one of only three Le Pin wines ever to receive a perfect 100-point score from Robert Parker.

The Le Pin Story

Le Pin was founded in 1979 by Jacques Thienpont, a Belgian winemaker who purchased a small two-hectare parcel in Pomerol next to Château Trotanoy. Unlike most of its neighbors rooted in deep clay, Le Pin’s vines grow on gravel and sand, giving the wine a softer, exotic, and more aromatic almost Burgundian texture.

Thienpont named the estate after a solitary pine tree on the property. With no château, no marketing, and only a few barrels each year, production remains around 500 cases annually — a fraction of what larger Right Bank estates produce.

A Different Kind of Bordeaux

From the beginning, Le Pin was about precision over prestige. Thienpont adopted techniques rarely seen in Bordeaux at the time — small-lot fermentation, malolactic fermentation in barrel, and a gravity-flow cellar to preserve delicacy. Each lot was bottled separately, emphasizing clarity and site expression.

This artisanal approach created wines of extraordinary silkiness and perfume, setting a new standard for micro-production Merlot on the Right Bank.

The 2009 Vintage — A Modern Benchmark

Robert Parker has only ever given Le Pin a perfect 100 points three times:

• 1982 — The wine that started the legend

• 2009 — “Undeniably the greatest Le Pin I have tasted… made in the style of 1982.”

• 2010 — Another titan, though slightly more structured

The 2009 Le Pin is a benchmark modern Pomerol — black cherry, violet, mocha, truffle, and sweet spice all wrapped in velvet tannins. It bridges the handmade, early Le Pin era with the newer, more precise winemaking of today. Lush and opulent yet perfectly balanced, it’s one of the great Right Bank wines of the century.

Why It Matters

Le Pin’s appeal comes down to rarity, terroir, and execution. With production limited to a few hundred cases, every bottle reflects meticulous vineyard and cellar work. Its distinctive gravel-and-sand soils give the wine a texture and lift that sets it apart from its clay-based Pomerol peers.

In Short

The 2009 Le Pin captures everything that makes Pomerol special — ripe Merlot fruit, precision winemaking, and the unmistakable touch of its unique terroir. Small, handcrafted, and consistently world-class, it remains one of Bordeaux’s true benchmarks.

Our 2009 Le Pin 3-pack OWC has been stored under ideal conditions and available exclusively through Weekend Wine — your source for rare, iconic bottles, hand-picked and rigorously inspected for provenance and perfection.