2024 Château Le Pin, Pomerol

The 2024 Le Pin was picked in four stages between September 20 and 29 at 29 hl/ha, with 65% aged in new oak and the rest in one-year-old oak. All the sorting is done in the vineyard before harvest to eradicate unwanted bunches, then again at a sorting table at the winery reception. It has a relatively light, delineated bouquet of red berry fruit and touches of dark chocolate. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine lattice of tannins. Very elegant and harmonious with a deft touch of white pepper, this is a delightful, slightly ferrous Pomerol that will drink well for 15 to 20 years. It just sashays along without a care in the world. I tasted this on two separate visits. 13.05% abv.

The 2024 Le Pin is aromatic and light on its feet, with lovely perfume but less in the way of mid-palate pliancy or persistence. Perhaps I caught Le Pin at an awkward stage, but my distinct impression is of a wine marked by elements of dilution and very fragile balance. Élevage will be critical. Wines like this can sometimes blossom in bottle, so we will see. I tasted the 2024 from three sample bottles with consistent notes.

Vivid ruby plum, and here the fragrance is centred around dark fruits, cassis, bilberry, rose petals. Love the density and the texture, and the slow slow build. A more serious Le Pin than some years, exceptional quality in the vintage, and will age with finesse. The retro olfaction comes curling in with gunsmoke and graphite. The deep gravels of Le Pin came into play for sure in this vintage, helping reach these ripeness levels, and this is a potential upscore in bottle. 65% new oak, harvest 20 to 29 September. 3.72pH, 29 hl/ha.

The 2024 Le Pin is showing nicely, offering up aromas of sweet red berries, orange marmalade, cigar box and loamy soil, followed by a medium to full-bodied, sweet and fleshy palate that's layered and expressive, with a sweet core of fruit and an aromatic finish. This attained 13% alcohol without chaptalization and is being matured in 65% new oak.