The beauty of Bordeaux wines is that each vintage follows the next, yet no two are ever alike. Reading back over my notes on the 2025 vintage, one thing becomes clear: one could almost write the exact opposite of 2024. In 2024, excessive rainfall during ripening forced some châteaux to delay their harvests with great care. In 2025, the situation was reversed: in the vineyards, one could almost imagine rain dances, pleading with Mother Nature to water the parched soils. Drought defines the vintage. Opposite in their development, the two vintages nevertheless converge on one point: volume. 2025 stands as the smallest vintage since 1991 – a statement that already applied to 2024. In Bordeaux, a pressing question now arises: can great, even very great vintages – as 2025 appears to be – still coexist with generous yields, as in 2016? Let us remain optimistic. 2025 is a beautiful vintage, which comes as a relief for the entire industry. Yet a deeper question lingers: does “normal” still exist in viticulture in an era of climate disruption? What was the biggest challenge for winegrowers in 2025? Eric Boissenot: Overall, the year was fairly easy from a vineyard perspective: no major disease pressure, low mildew risk, and the vines coped well with the drought—likely even better than in 2022. Thomas Duclos: Most likely, the biggest challenge was staying calm and level-headed towards the end of the growing cycle, which saw a heatwave around mid-August followed by rainfall in early September. Julien Viaud: With hindsight, this vintage was much easier than others. Spring and summer conditions were generally favourable. The greater challenge came in the cellar, where it was essential to manage the richness of the material. The fruit was abundant and concentrated, and the winemaker’s role was to be precise, measured, and restrained in order to express the very best the grapes had to offer. Could you share a few thoughts on the 2025 yields? Eric Boissenot: Yields were low, even very low. This was due, on the one hand, to limited floral initiation (resulting in fewer bunches), and on the other hand to small berry size at harvest (across all grape varieties), caused by the low rainfall throughout the vintage. Thomas Duclos: The 2025 vintage was affected by a low number of bunches—a direct consequence of the 2024 conditions (poor floral induction) combined with a dry growing season. The result is therefore low yields. Julien Viaud: Yields in 2025 were not high, mainly for physiological reasons. The issue is that both the size and number of bunches—determined the previous year within the buds—were limited from the outset. The potential was therefore already constrained. How would you describe the style of the 2025 vintage? Eric Boissenot: First of all, it is a very early vintage, shaped by a warm and dry climate. It then benefited from rainfall in late August and early September, which helped the vines manage water stress. As a result, alcohol levels remain moderate (around 13–13.5% vol) for a warm year. While it shows a warm and very ripe character, it also retains a classic, distinctly Bordeaux style that is both balanced and highly drinkable. Thomas Duclos: 2025 is a Bordeaux vintage shaped by climate change. Julien Viaud: It is a sunny vintage, but not “solar” in the sense that it allowed for ripe grapes full of fruit expression, without excessive sugar (and therefore alcohol), and without a loss of acidity (and thus freshness). It is an approachable, generous, and charming vintage, with wines bursting with aromas and delivering real pleasure. If you had to sum up 2025 in one word or a short phrase, what would you choose? Eric Boissenot: High density Thomas Duclos: Futuristic Julien Viaud: Intense and fast-paced Conclusions Reds: Well-balanced wines, showing fine concentration and the freshness so characteristic of Bordeaux—perhaps, as Julien Viaud suggests, a style the world might envy. They retain a solid yet never heavy tannic structure, resulting in wines that are both vibrant and structured. A beautiful vintage, even exceptional in certain cases. Whites: The first grapes arrived at the cellar as early as August 11. The wines are highly expressive, with good mid-palate weight and a certain creaminess. They also stand out for their freshness, which brings energy and lift. Sweet wines: When the rains came in late August / early September, the grapes were in excellent health, allowing Botrytis cinerea to develop evenly. The style is rather opulent, with lovely complexity. Bordeaux 2025 overview: A historically low-yield vintage, the smallest since 1991. A prolonged heatwave period, exceeding those of 2003 and 2022. Marked drought throughout the summer, enhancing grape concentration. Decisive rainfall at the end of August / beginning of September, helping to balance ripeness. Exceptionally early harvest, among the earliest ever recorded. Moderate alcohol levels, thanks to day/night temperature variation and late August / early September rainfall. Low pH levels, bringing freshness and tension to the wines. An extreme vintage in climate, yet precise and balanced in the glass. Rarity, freshness, and control: 2025 ticks all the boxes of a great modern Bordeaux. About Inside La Place Inside La Place is a specialist newsletter published by Roland Coiffe & Associés, offering expert commentary, vintage analysis and insider perspectives from across the Place de Bordeaux. Bordeaux 2025 Each spring, the Bordeaux En Primeur campaign gives collectors the opportunity to secure the new vintage before bottling – follow Bordeaux 2025 with FINE+RARE as our team travels to Bordeaux next week, sharing insights, producer highlights and release alerts. Explore now.

Written by Gerda Beziade of négociant Roland Coiffe & Associés, this Inside La Place piece explores the Bordeaux 2025 vintage – one of the smallest in decades – combining her analysis with insights from leading oenologists Eric Boissenot, Thomas Duclos and Julien Viaud.

Gerda Beziade explores Bordeaux 2025, with insights from leading oenologists on style, yields and quality.

Inside La Place: Bordeaux 2025 Vintage Insights 

Inside La Place: Bordeaux 2025

There are few people that get to taste Bordeaux as often or as thoroughly as the Wine Advocate Editor-in-Chief Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW. Based in Napa, her knowledge of how the Bordeaux varieties are managed – both in Bordeaux’s moderate climate and the hotter region of Napa – has become a huge asset in understanding and assessing Bordeaux in a warming climate. With such exposure to vintages past and present, being mentored by the world’s most influential critic Robert Parker, there’s no one better to consider what defines Bordeaux today.  Perrotti-Brown has a clear idea of how and why Bordeaux has changed so much in the last 20 years, while at the same time emphasising that there’s no “hard stop” to an era. An individual château’s period of change can be different to its neighbours. “It seems like every château has had its challenging period,” she says, “whether it be a dogmatic winemaker, recurring faults in the winery or even financial difficulties.” Each era of Bordeaux is not simply defined by set vintages, however – with the benefit of hindsight – she believes you can see clear, defining moments over the last two decades where the style of Bordeaux has changed. Like much of the wine world in the 1980s and ’90s, Bordeaux châteaux were still understanding the effects of faults in their wines – whether it be volatile acidity, dissolved oxygen or Brettanomyces. With increased emphasis on ripeness and new oak, these issues only increased. “Brett and other faults love new oak and higher alcohol, it was almost a perfect storm,” she explains. But as this became more of an issue in the region, it led to more research, bringing about a much better technical understanding of why these things were happening. It was this scientific awakening that Perrotti-Brown believes was the catalyst for the modern era. “Momentum for change has sped up in the last 20 years and there have been lots of triggers,” she says. “There is a better understanding of what ripeness is, precision viticulture and winemaking, the development of technology and of course there is climate change.” But outside this and perhaps the most important “trigger” behind this change, she believes, is money. “To run a château has become very expensive: 30 or 40 years ago many of these châteaux were simply operating as agriculturalists, now it is a multi-million-dollar business.” Big money has no doubt brought about big investment and Perrotti-Brown believes in many ways it has “levelled the playing field”. A lack of investment in the winery and vineyard is now a rare excuse for poor performance. “It has raised the standard throughout the region. Investment and greater precision has created a lot of diversity – more than we have ever seen before.” In terms of taste, the most positive developments in Bordeaux for Perrotti-Brown come from the vigneron’s better understanding of ripeness, both in terms of tannin ripeness and fruit concentration. “Hindsight is a beautiful thing,” she quips, “but we have seen dark periods on both sides of the spectrum in Bordeaux.” There were real issues with lack of ripeness through much of the 1970s and ’80s. High production levels saw diluted grapes harvested and simply chaptalized (sugar added) to bring up the alcohol, then at fermentation, the must was overworked to extract enough colour and tannins. Since top Bordeaux was known for its long ageing potential, this was necessary to create the structure to age – “Otherwise you were going to end up with a diluted, watery mess,” explains Perrotti-Brown. This extended maceration saw the extraction of very hard tannins – “the wrong sort of tannins that come at a later stage of extraction”. “It is better extraction techniques, only extracting quality tannins, that is a major reason behind the most recent improvements,” Perrotti-Brown explains. She points to the legendary 1982 vintage. “A lot of people at the time were saying the tannins of the ’82s were too soft, too juicy, too fruity and it just wasn’t true.” The vintage was warm, particularly for that era. “At harvest the vignerons were picking grapes with a natural ripeness to the tannins, which meant during extraction the tannins and colour came easily.” They didn’t have to overwork the grapes to extract the tannins, producing wines that were great in their youth and have since aged incredibly well. It was the quality, not quantity, of tannins that stood the 1982s in such good stead, a lesson that wasn’t necessarily learnt instantly. Overworking the musts and a lack of concentration continued to be commonplace throughout much of the ’80s and ’90s. Many wines were hugely extracted and required plenty of patience. “You compare that with now,” she says. “I was discussing the 2020 vintage with Ch. Margaux’s Philippe Bascaules – and he barely needed to touch the grapes during extraction.” At better ripeness levels (as seen in 2020), the colour and tannins extract themselves. In the mid-90s to early 2000s, however, there was “a chase for ripeness”, in Perrotti-Brown’s words. “It was the beginning of the garagiste era – with reductions in yield, later picking and an emphasis on power. You had super low yields, producing behemoth, impenetrable wines in their youth, 200% new oak etc – people were really pushing the boundaries.” It is a style that is seen by many as actively encouraged by Perrotti-Brown’s mentor Robert Parker, who at this point was arguably the most influential man in Bordeaux. The incredibly hot 2003 vintage marked a watershed moment for Bordeaux. “Bordeaux winemakers had never seen anything like it. Grapes were turning to raisins on the vine,” Perrotti-Brown says. Despite the year’s conditions which exposed the push toward ripeness, the emphasis on power continued up until the 2010 vintage. Despite the focus on ripeness and extraction, there were some exceptional vintages – but Perrotti-Brown questions how well these wines have since aged. This is, in her view, a key shift in the region. She compares tasting the 2005s en primeur, with tasting the vintages of today. While 2005 was clearly a fantastic vintage, tasting these wines so young was really difficult, with aggressive tannins. Many winemakers were, Perrotti-Brown says, “making wines by formula”. A high-quality vintage gave vignerons a free ride to push the extraction even more. The criticism often made of 2005 is that it has taken such a long time to come around. Similar issues are raised with the same vintage in Burgundy. The year was at the height of the trend for maximum ripeness and extraction, for both Bordeaux and Burgundy, and the resulting wines shut down for a long period. Perrotti-Brown accepts that people have different expectations on when to drink Bordeaux, but she loves to drink wine in its mid-life, when there is both primary fruit and tertiary development. The problem with the 2005s, she says, is that that window never really opened: the wines remained closed, only beginning to open up now, when there is little primary fruit left. “Many of the ’05s are, wow, exceptional now, but you miss that sweet fruit and it’s what I like about the modern vintages,” she says. Looking back, “Winemakers could have dealt with 2005 much more wisely.” The 2009 vintage provides an interesting contrast. Like the ’82s, the natural ripeness of the tannins meant the wines didn’t shut down in the same way the 2005s did. Of course, higher levels of alcohol also helped increase the potential tannin extraction. Alcohol is a solvent. Increased ripeness, which in turn leads to higher alcohol levels, can therefore lead to too much phenolic extraction. While this was a risk for many wines in the early 2000s, fortunately today’s winemakers know much more about how to handle riper fruit. The 2010 vintage might have been the last year of big, bold, extracted wines, it was nature rather than the Bordelais that dictated the change, Perrotti-Brown notes. The ’11, ’12, ’13 and ’14 vintages meant winemakers had to deal with cooler, more difficult vintages. It was not possible to produce bold wines in these vintages and retain balance. This was almost a period of introspection for Bordeaux and, for Perrotti-Brown, it led to a distinctive development where “the ethos of precision” took charge from the 2015 vintage. While there are of course exceptions, from 2015 Perrotti-Brown feels you started to see more plot-by-plot management of the vineyard, with picking times becoming much more accurate – picking plots and fermenting them separately, “rather than throwing everything together”. Extraction also became much more precise, focusing on only the quality tannins – a marked change from the previous era. This new ethos brought, in Perrotti-Brown’s view, a lot of “soul-searching” in the vineyard, with people like Alfred Tesseron spearheading a movement toward more sustainable practices. But overall, Perrotti-Brown notes, “There is so much creativity too and many people are doing different things. It has created a lot of diversity.” Amongst the creative changes happening in the winery and vineyard, developments in the wine’s élevage always seems to be a big talking point in Bordeaux. Oak is an integral part of the Bordeaux “recipe”, but – after an over-reliance in the 2000s – its use was becoming increasingly scrutinised. “Oak doesn’t ever go,” she says. “It settles down, integrates and evolves with the fruit, but it can push itself forward.” “Oak is absolutely necessary for giving shape and spice to the fruit, as well as tannic interest to the wine,” says Perrotti-Brown: for her, it’s about oak being used “smartly”. “Most people have pulled back on the new oak from the 2015 vintage onwards, but, like the tannins, it is not about more or less oak, but about using it more wisely. There is a much better understanding of oak today and much better quality of oak being used. What it lends to the tannin structure is a nice back up to the skin tannins and a spiciness in the background.” The new era – from 2015 onwards – is certainly contributing to Bordeaux being “on a good run”, in Perrotti-Brown’s words. But while there is great consistency today, she’s under no impression there won’t be problems ahead. “Warm, dry vintages have become the norm, but how warm and how dry before this becomes an issue? Bordeaux was lucky in 2020 that they got a bit of rain in August,” she says. While a lot has changed over the last 20 years in Bordeaux, there are no guarantees for the future. No matter the technology, Bordeaux’s fate lies in the hands of the shifting climate – and terroir, or more specifically the clay or limestone soils equipped to deal with hot, dry conditions, has never been so important. For now at least, though, Bordeaux is basking in its era of precision, with 2020 the third great vintage in a row. Let’s hope Mother Nature holds the region in her favour a little longer. Read our summary of Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW's report (including the wines she rated most highly) in our round-up of the critics’ verdict on the vintage Find out more about Bordeaux or read more Editorial 

No doubt that the style of Bordeaux has shifted over the past two decades. But what’s caused the change – and are the wines better? We sat down with one of the world’s most influential wine writers, Wine Advocate Editor-in-Chief Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, to delve into what defines modern Bordeaux

The Wine Advocate’s Editor-in-Chief Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW on 20 years of change in Bordeaux – and what defines modern Bordeaux

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW on the Bordeaux evolution

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW on the evolution of Bordeaux

The benefit of hindsight tells us this story did not end happily ever after, but for the 750
million people tuning in to the wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and the Prince of Wales, the day was fit for a fairy-tale complete with gold-encrusted carriage, silk slippers and trumpet fanfares aplenty.   The Champagne of choice? Magnums of Dom Pérignon 1961–  Diana’s birth year and a legendary vintage. The 600 bottles were disgorged in March 1981, just four months before Diana took the long walk down the aisle at St Paul’s cathedral but the quality of this 50/50 Chardonnay/Pinot Noir blend had long been appreciated: it is the only Champagne to have been awarded six stars by the late Michael Broadbent in his vintage guide – the maximum was five – while sparkling wine expert Tom Stevenson called it “the best Dom Pérignon I have ever tasted”. It wasn’t just Champagne that made wine fit for royalty in 1961. The warm, dry summer produced wines that had the Bordelais salivating from the first crush. In his annual
vintage report, Bordeaux négociant Peter Sichel, said:  “We have no doubts at all about the quality of this vintage. The wines are dark in colour, firm and complete in composition
and classic in flavour…they are great wines ranking with the 1928’s, 1929’s and 1945’s.” Despite the evident quality, there wasn’t much of it to go around: an intense cold spell at
the end of May made a huge dent in yields and this caused massive headaches. Bordeaux was far from wealthy at this time and the sur souche system was still in operation, which meant producers sold part of their crop before a grape had been harvested. It helped with cashflow and kept the bank manager far from the château gates but the system backfired in 1961 when nature turned against the vines: there was hardly any fruit; some châteaux couldn’t fulfil contracts and had to reimburse their customers for failure to supply.  Under the stable ownership of American financier Clarence Dillon, however, there were no such concerns at Château Haut-Brion. Instead, 1961 will be remembered as the “ripe and concentrated” debut vintage for Jean-Bernard Delmas who took over from his father and made the revolutionary step of introducing stainless steel fermentation tanks.  His son Jean-Philippe was handed the winemaking reins in 2004 and explains that the introduction of tanks brought greater precision to Haut-Brion. He tasted the 1961 earlier this year and recalls: “It was powerful, complex, so rich in tannins, ample, fleshy and complete. A pinnacle in quality, slightly similar to our 1989, that can still age and flourish for several decades. 1961 and 1989 are really the best made by my father.” The year 1961 will also be remembered as a killer year for the northern Rhône. Paul Jaboulet Ainé’s Hermitage La Chapelle, a cuvee that takes its name from the pint-sized chapel on top of the Hermitage hill, was lauded by wine critic Robert Parker and played no small part in creating a semi-mythical status. “This is unquestionably one of the greatest wines made in the twentieth century,” he declared. “In the two dozen tastings where I have had the 1961 La Chapelle, I rated it 100 points twenty times,” which would give it a sum total of 2000 Parker points. Heading further south through the Mont Blanc tunnel, the conditions that produced a stunning Rhône season made this the vintage of the decade in Piedmont. It is even a
strong contender for vintage of the century. According to Angelo Gaja, the makers of Barolo and Barbaresco would have to wait until 1970 for a vintage in the same league and then, like buses, they had another the following year (although some would argue the quality of 1967 was in a similar league).  By 1961, the staunch traditional Barolo maker, Bartolo Mascarello, already had 40-odd vintages under his belt and it would prove to be one of the vintages of a lifetime. While fully mature, it continues to drink well, although it’s not one for long-term cellaring at nearly 60 years old.  The late Mascarello’s unwavering commitment to long maceration times and traditional aging in large format Slovenian oak (botti) in the face of a modernist Barolo movement continues under the guardianship of his daughter Maria-Teresa. Fashions have come and gone since Mascarello first made this wine but it’s clear that he knew how to capture the greatness of his sites And if it ain’t broke… Explore more Editorial

In conversation amongst collectors and critics around the world, 1961 is certainly a vintage that piques a lot of interest. It was a vintage that arguably produced some of the finest bottles of the century. In the latest installment in our Vintage Series, we explore the vintage of 1961.

According to collectors and critics around the world, 1961 is a vintage that produced some of the finest bottles of the century. We explore the golden year

Exploring the 1961 vintage globally 

A year in wine: 1961

Le Pin doesn’t really do events. I guess it doesn’t need to. This tiny 2.7-hectare property produces on average 600 cases each year and the wines are instantly snapped up on release by collectors lucky enough to be privy to the merchants’ miniscule supply.  But FINE+RARE, after much searching, collated an extraordinary collection of Le Pin bottlings (some coming from Thienpont’s own personal cellar) right back to the inaugural 1979 vintage. The tasting consisted of 12 vintages of Le Pin, as well as three vintages from L’If, Thienpont’s relatively new project in neighbouring Saint-Emilion. We also persuaded Thienpont to come to London and share Le Pin’s fascinating story from the beginning. The setting was perfect for such an intimate event. With just a handful of guests alongside Jacques Thienpont and Diana Berrouet Garcia (MD of Domaines Jacques Thienpont), the dinner took place in Claridges’ L’Epicerie restaurant. L’Epicerie, which seats just 14 guests, is set within Claridges’ hallowed kitchens. It meant the guests could watch the chefs at work and discuss with them why they paired certain dishes with certain vintages. In hindsight, it was amazing just how versatile the Le Pin wines turned out to be. The younger vintages paired beautifully with poached lobster, fois gras terrine, black truffle and artichoke. The older vintages worked just as well with beef fillet and aged cheeses. But, however well the food worked, everyone was there to taste Le Pin.  Le Pin needs little introduction. The youngest of all the Right Bank icons, it became an almost overnight success thanks to the critical acclaim of the property’s fourth vintage in 1982. Combined with its tiny production levels and an ever-expanding collectors’ market, Le Pin became the ultimate wine collectable – and the market price of this tiny estate quickly rose to stratospheric levels.   Such are its size and popularity that it is rare to taste one bottle of Le Pin, let alone 12 vintages back-to-back. I’ve been lucky enough to taste the wine en primeur over the years, so I had some idea of what to expect, but it’s only at maturity that this extraordinary wine’s vivid personality really comes to life.  The elusive address has humble beginnings. From the 1920s to the late 1970s, the land was owned by the Loubie family. During this time, the wine was made by a contract-winemaker based in Lalande de Pomerol and was sold with little fanfare.  In 1979, Jacques Thienpont jumped at the chance to purchase the property when it came up sale, privy to the extraordinary terroir of the site, located next to his uncle Gérard’s esteemed Pomerol estate Vieux Château Certan. Thienpont named his new acquisition after a single pine tree that shaded the property. Over the years, he gradually expanded the vineyard to 2.7 hectares by purchasing slivers of land from adjacent producers.   It’s hard to imagine that a wine of such prestige came from what was – in the early days – a very basic operation. The project and space were so small that there was little flexibility when it came to vinification. Everything was done by hand and malolactic fermentation took place in barrel because Thienpont had nowhere else to store the wines (although this eventually set the trend for modern winemaking). In time, the Belgian vigneron made improvements in the winery and vineyard, including replanting a significant part of the land with new Merlot clones and re-trellising the vines. Now, 40 years later, Thienpont is as hands-on as ever, insisting he is involved in every stage of winemaking.   Wine experts consider Le Pin’s key advantage to be its unique terroir and soil composition. With sandy gravel topsoil on a pocket of gravel which runs five to 10 metres deep, the vineyard has perfect drainage. As it’s south-facing, it is a warmer site and that gives the vineyard great benefits, particularly in poorer, cooler vintages. It is notably different from surrounding vineyards. The vineyard contains a high proportion of iron oxide, aka “crasse de fer”, which Jacques Thienpont attributes to the soil’s fantastic drainage and feels helps Le Pin perform well in wetter vintages.   There are a few odd Cabernet Franc vines in the vineyard at Le Pin, but the wine is 100% Merlot. A significant portion (40%) of the vineyards were replanted in the late 1970s, and replanting has continued under Thienpont’s ownership. In fine wine terms the average age of the vineyards is relatively young. The fact that Le Pin can already produce such incredible wines suggests the future looks bright for the property.  The property produces low volumes but with great consistency, with the wine always expressing a beautiful integration of tannins, wonderful depth and detail. It also ages beautifully, as this stunning line-up showcased so well. Tasting a younger vintage (2018) earlier in the day, it became apparent how versatile Le Pin is. Despite its youth, the 2018 is drinking beautifully right now. Berrouet Garcia believes it is one of Le Pin’s trump cards – it just performs so well at any time, in its youth, at full maturity and any time in between, such is its openness and versatility.  With a couple years in bottle, the 2018 really expresses a signature trait of Le Pin, a trait that through the tasting is so distinctive and emanates from almost every vintage – a trademark tannin texture and mouthfeel. The best way I can explain it is as if the tannins are totally spherical in the mouth. There are no edges, you can feel they are there by their density on the palate. They are the “dark matter” equivalent of tannin – they are there but you just can’t feel them.  Before the Le Pin vertical, guests were introduced to Jacques Thienpont’s Saint-Emilion estate, L’If. Thienpont’s first vintage from this young estate was 2010 and the wines are the perfect antithesis to Le Pin. Whereas Le Pin is voluptuous and opulent, L’If is stricter, more linear and has amazing energy. Thienpont has fallen in love with the limestone soils of Saint-Emilion. While still similar in climate to Pomerol (warm and sunny) the limestone soils in Saint-Emilion keep freshness in the wine and importantly, in winemaking terms, the pH low.  Whereas Le Pin’s opulent levels of ripeness and high pH (due to the soils) can sometimes have problems with fermentations getting stuck (so much so from 2015 onwards that Le Pin has been fermented using a special commercial yeast that avoids this problem), L’If’s limestone soils mean they can push ripeness levels and never lose freshness. Like Le Pin, tasting through the vintages of L’If there is a strong character trait across the vintages – a vibrant energy that is just so expansive on the palate. The 2015, 2013 and 2012 all express distinct vintage traits too, the 2015 the most powerful, the 2013 lighter but beautifully clean and vertical, while the 2012 is soft and juicy with lovely floral delicacy.  Le Pin’s roundness and silk-like texture is such a lovely contrast to L’If and tasting them side by side only accentuates how different in style these two wines from Jacques Thienpont are.  The vertical of Le Pin starts with two legendary vintages – the 2010 and 2009. Strangely, the 2009 throws a lot of sediment, something not found in the other wines. It is hugely concentrated and opulent. Pushing the levels of ripeness, there is a touch of VA, but it doesn’t diminish the wine at all. Despite the richness and ripeness, it is very much on the red fruit spectrum– but the 2010 was even better. It has an electricity to it that adds another level of excitement to the dense, rich fruit and smoky tones. This electric energy was also present in my wine of the night – the 2001. This wine is so elegant and refined, and is in its perfect drinking window today, the light tertiary notes complement the exquisitely pure, fresh fruit. But it’s the clenched tautness to the wine and that extra burst of energy that makes it so special and surpasses even the hugely anticipated 2000. This too has the tension, the sinewy tannins, the textbook spherical mouthfeel but the tertiary development is more advanced than the 2001.  The 2008 was also a highlight for me. It had all the classic Pomerol hallmarks, the irony-minerality and opulent fruit. It was also impressively structured while remaining heavenly soft. It was perhaps the vintage that showed off this contrast best, but it was a trait running throughout. The 2007 was lighter, earthier even with a touch of menthol and shorter on the palate but still delightful. The 2006 for me also outshone the “better” vintage of 2005. The density of the 2006 is just so impressive. If anything, the 2005 tasted the least like Le Pin. It had an almost Cabernet-esque feel, more structured, more extracted and, in that sense, felt like the odd one out in the tasting.  The 1996 was fully developed with lovely tertiary notes and dried fruit flavours. But the spherical mouthfeel clearly synonymous with Le Pin was very much intact and there was still plenty of tension and a very long finish. The 1990 was a revelation, so light on its feet – almost Pinot Noir-like in its daintiness and purity. It had a lovely freshness still, despite the concentration from this warm vintage. Again, it is still spherical in character, with lovely mature Claret flavours.  The 1983 was slightly unclean on corking, perhaps unsurprisingly, but this blew off in the glass. It was fully mature, dominated by tertiary flavours, but the tannins interestingly were less dried out than the 1996. Finally, the inaugural 1979 vintage. Amazingly, this first vintage already has the Le Pin DNA on the palate. The spherical mouthfeel was there. It is a remarkably clean bottle considering the age. It tasted more youthful than the 1983 alongside and still had fresh fruit characters and more tertiary notes. The spherical tannins are beautifully integrated. What a wine and what condition! It’s quite incredible.  There were clear takeaways from the tasting. Firstly, Le Pin’s consistency was self-evident, performing year-in, year-out. Secondly, the DNA of Le Pin was distinct throughout the flight (bar the 2005) both in youth and at full maturity. Also, it is clear that its character, its distinctness exists right back to its humble beginnings. Le Pin is a special wine, a rare treat, but not just a wine for the well-initiated. Such is its openness, elegance and dare I say easiness, Le Pin turns out to be the ultimate crowd-pleaser. Browse all current Le Pin listings or read more Editorial

While “once-in-a-lifetime” might be overused, a vertical of Le Pin back to the inaugural 1979 vintage was just that. After tasting 12 vintages of this cult Pomerol with owner Jacques Thienpont, Gavin Smith considers what defines the property, and wine

A once-in-a-lifetime tasting of Le Pin back to its inaugural 1979 vintage held in Claridges’ L’Epicerie restaurant

Le Pin – from the beginning

Le Pin: from the beginning

Hindsight

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A causa della quantità richiesta per il ritiro, non è possibile definire una data di ritiro in questa fase. Il nostro team si coordinerà con il magazzino e ti contatterà direttamente per confermare una data di ritiro adeguata.

Questo articolo è stato messo in vendita da un collezionista ed è disponibile per lo stoccaggio o per la consegna immediata

Per ordini di alto valore consigliamo la spedizione con un corriere terzo. Gli articoli spediti tramite terzi rimarranno in OWC fascettate.

A causa della quantità richiesta, non potrai selezionare una data di ritiro. Ti preghiamo di inviare la richiesta e ci coordineremo con il nostro magazzino per confermare direttamente con te la data di ritiro.

A causa della quantità richiesta, non è possibile procedere con l'acquisto. Ti preghiamo di selezionare un servizio di terze parti oppure di modificare la quantità (è consentito un massimo di 48 pezzi).

A causa della quantità richiesta, non sarà possibile selezionare una data di spedizione al checkout. Ti preghiamo di inviare la richiesta e ci coordineremo con il nostro magazzino per confermare direttamente con te la data di consegna.

Fino a 499 bottiglie in deposito, la tariffa è di 39¢/bottiglia al mese oppure un addebito mensile minimo di 50 $ (copre fino a 142 bottiglie). Per oltre 500 bottiglie, la tariffa di stoccaggio è di 35¢/bottiglia al mese.

Lo stoccaggio viene addebitato a 40 HKD per cassa da 12 bottiglie al mese. Si applica una tariffa minima mensile di stoccaggio di 80 HKD, che copre fino a 24 bottiglie.

Tariffa di stoccaggio standard

Selezionando la spedizione tramite terzi, ti assumi la piena responsabilità del rispetto di tutte le normative e autorizzi Vinfolio a trasferire gli articoli alla parte indicata nelle tue istruzioni. Gli articoli spediti tramite terzi rimarranno nel loro imballaggio originale.

Gli orari di ritiro sono tra le 8:30 e le 12:00 e tra le 13:30 e le 16:30, dal lunedì al venerdì. I vini al Will Call che non vengono ritirati entro 10 giorni lavorativi saranno trasferiti in deposito e soggetti a una tariffa di stoccaggio di 1,50 $ per bottiglia.

Gli articoli verranno reperiti e spediti al nostro deposito di vini all'avanguardia per la migliore conservazione possibile, dove potrai organizzare il ritiro presso il nostro indirizzo di magazzino a Napa.

Ritiro in sede (Napa)

Hai inserito la password errata troppe volte. Il tuo account è stato temporaneamente bloccato. Attendi cinque minuti prima di riprovare.

Sembra che tu stia visitando da {country}, ti invitiamo a scoprire il nostro sito {nationality}.

Stai navigando da {country}?

Non siamo in grado di elaborare il tuo ordine se contiene sia biglietti per eventi sia un prodotto vinicolo o un distillato nella stessa transazione. Per procedere, rimuovi dal carrello i biglietti dell’evento oppure il prodotto. Potrai quindi completare l’acquisto.

Controlla il tuo carrello

Password dimenticata

Siamo nelle fasi finali dellaggiornamento alla nostra nuova piattaforma di trading. Come parte di questa transizione, stiamo attualmente migrando tutti gli inventari di proprietà dei clienti per garantire unesperienza fluida e senza interruzioni.

La nostra nuova e migliorata piattaforma sarà pronta per te venerdì 4 aprile.

Grazie per la tua pazienza — non vediamo lora di mostrarti cosa arriverà.

Ops, qualcosa è andato storto

Non abbiamo trovato nulla da mostrare qui.

Non abbiamo trovato alcun risultato da mostrare qui.

Si prega di notare: potrebbero essere applicati costi di consegna, dazi e IVA

Il nostro sito è temporaneamente in manutenzione.

Modalità manutenzione

La pre-autorizzazione di un metodo di pagamento consente al tuo Account Manager di effettuare pagamenti per tuo conto, senza verifica del pagamento.

Pre-autorizza

Questa transazione è stata bloccata per un errore di autenticazione.

Errore di autenticazione

La tua carta di pagamento è scaduta. Controlla i dati e riprova.

Carta scaduta

Fondi insufficienti per saldare l'importo. Controlla i dati e riprova.

Fondi insufficienti

Questa transazione è stata bloccata dal fornitore di pagamenti per possibile attività fraudolenta.

Transazione bloccata

Scegli un metodo di pagamento diverso e riprova.

Errore sconosciuto

mostra tutti gli articoli che attualmente conservi con noi. Questi articoli possono essere venduti, consegnati o trasferiti.

Presso {shortName}

La tua allocazione verrà annullata. Sei sicuro di voler continuare?

Il tuo articolo pre-ordinato verrà eliminato. Sei sicuro di voler continuare?

La tua richiesta di consegna verrà annullata. Sei sicuro di voler procedere?

rappresenta tutti i vini che sono in tuo possesso e che sono stati consumati.

Questo è il prezzo che hai pagato per questo articolo.

Prezzo di costo

Dopo aver aggiunto il nuovo indirizzo, verrai reindirizzato a questa pagina.

Crea un nuovo indirizzo

La tua notifica verrà eliminata. Sei sicuro di voler continuare?

Il prezzo minimo al quale sei disposto a vendere. Se il prezzo di listino scende al di sotto di questo valore, la tua inserzione verrà rimossa.

mostra tutti gli articoli che hai pre-ordinato, inclusi i vini en primeur, e tutti gli articoli nella tua watchlist.

Futures

È possibile impostare un prezzo minimo per gli articoli in vendita basato su una percentuale del valore netto unitario attuale.

Puoi impostare un prezzo di mercato per gli articoli che stai vendendo basato su una percentuale del valore netto unitario corrente.

mostra tutte le azioni che hai effettuato sugli articoli nel tuo Portafoglio.

raggruppa ogni azione per tipo - Acquisto, Vendita, Consegna e Trasferimento in entrata - così è chiaro a colpo d'occhio cosa è successo a ciascun articolo.

Storico

mostra tutti gli articoli attualmente in transito da o verso {shortName}.

In transito

La consegna locale è gratuita per ordini superiori a 1.800 HK$ (in un'unica destinazione). Per ordini inferiori a questo importo, la consegna costa 150 HK$ fino a quattro casse e 50 HK$ per ogni cassa aggiuntiva.

Le spedizioni partono da €15 in Italia e da €45 verso la Svizzera e il resto d’Europa per un massimo di 48 bottiglie (75 cl). I costi variano in base alla destinazione. Per spedizioni più grandi è possibile richiedere un preventivo.

La data indicata di seguito è quella in cui il tuo ordine verrà spedito dal nostro magazzino locale. La data di consegna finale, insieme ai dettagli completi di tracciamento, ti verrà fornita una volta che il nostro team avrà elaborato la tua richiesta.

Puoi organizzare il ritiro presso il nostro negozio al 22° piano, 8 Wyndham Street, Central Hong Kong.
Gli orari di ritiro sono dalle 9:30 alle 18:00, da lunedì a venerdì.

Puoi organizzare il ritiro presso il nostro magazzino STI INTERNAZIONALE SPA, in Viale del Lavoro 57, 37051 Bovolone, Verona.
Gli orari di ritiro sono dalle 8:30 alle 12:30 e dalle 13:30 alle 17:30, dal lunedì al venerdì. Siamo chiusi nei giorni festivi.

Questo è il valore di mercato stimato attuale per questo articolo.

I prezzi impostati manualmente verranno sovrascritti. I vini già inseriti non sono interessati.

Aggiorna tutti i vini non inseriti al prezzo di mercato corrente.

Imposta tutto al prezzo di mercato

rappresenta tutti i vini attualmente presenti nel tuo Portafoglio che non sono conservati con noi. Premi l'icona

La mia cantina

Nome

Prezzo netto

Nuovo portafoglio disponibile

Nuovo portafoglio

Non hai alcuna fattura in questo momento.

mostra tutti gli articoli del tuo Portafoglio che sono attualmente sul mercato.

In vendita

mostra tutti gli articoli attualmente presenti nel tuo Portafoglio. Da questa pagina puoi eseguire azioni individuali su di essi.

Panoramica

mostra tutti gli articoli attualmente in attesa di un'azione da parte dell'utente.

In sospeso

Questo è il prezzo di mercato dinamico dell'articolo al netto del margine di negoziazione.

Questo è l'importo del profitto che riceverai se la tua inserzione verrà venduta.

I pagamenti pre-autorizzati consentono transazioni automatiche per tuo conto, garantendo pagamenti fluidi e senza complicazioni. Questo permette di elaborare addebiti ricorrenti, abbonamenti o pagamenti programmati senza approvazione manuale ogni volta.

Il numero di casse che desideri mettere in vendita

Il tuo articolo del catalogo verrà archiviato. Sei sicuro di voler continuare?

I tuoi articoli del catalogo verranno archiviati. Sei sicuro di voler continuare?

Prima di richiedere la consegna, puoi modificare la quantità per ciascun articolo nella tua selezione qui sotto.

*Il prezzo di mercato è dinamico e può variare. Al momento della vendita, dal prezzo finale sarà detratta una commissione di negoziazione del 10%.

Prezzo di mercato totale*

Il prezzo fisso personalizzato al quale desideri vendere ciascun articolo.

Dividi in {caseSize} singole bottiglie da {bottleSize}cl.

Titolo

mostra tutti gli articoli che attualmente conservi con noi. Questi articoli possono essere venduti.

Disponibili per la vendita — gli articoli conservati con {name} sono idonei per essere inseriti nel marketplace.

Profilo

Questo articolo si trova presso FINE+RARE.

Questo articolo si trova presso FINE+RARE HOME Hong Kong, ed è disponibile per la consegna o il ritiro in sede. La maggior parte delle consegne a Hong Kong può essere effettuata entro 3 giorni lavorativi; la data esatta sarà comunicata al momento dell'organizzazione della consegna. Le consegne internazionali richiedono tempi più lunghi, ti preghiamo di contattarci per maggiori dettagli.

I vini venduti en primeur saranno rilasciati dal produttore dopo limbottigliamento, tipicamente 18 mesi dopo la fine della cosiddetta campagna. Il tuo vino sarà poi conservato da FINE+RARE in un deposito doganale fino a quando deciderai di richiederne la consegna.

Ci riforniremo di questo articolo al prezzo garantito dalla nostra rete di fornitori e organizzeremo una spedizione rapida a FINE+RARE.
 I tempi di consegna dipendono da molte variabili, ma in genere per un approvvigionamento rapido sono 2-4 settimane.
 Una volta confermato l'ordine, ti terremo aggiornato sulla data di arrivo prevista.
 Ogni articolo viene controllato all'arrivo dal nostro team di esperti e le fotografie sono disponibili su richiesta (si prega di notare che potrebbero essere applicati dei costi).

Reperiremo questo articolo attraverso la nostra rete di fornitori e ne organizzeremo la spedizione a FINE+RARE.
 I tempi di consegna dipendono da molte variabili, ma una stima media è di 6-12 settimane.
 Una volta confermato lordine, ti terremo aggiornato sulla data di arrivo prevista.
 Ogni articolo viene controllato al momento della ricezione dal nostro team di esperti, con fotografie disponibili su richiesta (si prega di notare che potrebbero essere applicati dei costi).

Hindsight

Filtro

Attendere prego

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