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Château Le Pin is a tiny vineyard located in the middle of the Pomerol plateau. Pomerol is on the right bank of the Gironde Estuary in the Bordeaux. There has never been an official classification of Pomerol. Even so, Chateau Le Pin commands prices that put it at levels equal to the best wines of Bordeaux. Le Pin was the first of the "garage wines" or micro-château that have become cult collector wines. These wines defy the traditional classifications.                              Château Le Pin was first produced in 1979. This was the year that the Thienpont family (wine merchants from Belgium) purchased the property from Madame Laubie, whose family had acquired it in 1924. The name, Le Pin, comes from a solitary Pine tree that grows near the winemaking facility. Throughout the 1980's and early 1990's the wine became an icon of modern Bordeaux. Le Pin was soon challenging the supremacy of Pétrus not only in terms of price, but in terms of quality. Its scarcity, memorable name, its understated label, charismatic proprietor and most importantly quality, provided the rocket fuel for its meteoric rise into the élite in a handful of years.   This is a wine that is made more in the style of California and Australia rather than traditional Bordeaux. It is very 'fruit-forward' and has great richness. It is often described with words like exotic and hedonistic. The wines from Château Le Pin are medium in body with delicate tannins and a fruity finish. They tend to be accessible when young and peak at about 15 years after the vintage. These wines are very showy and tend to dominate food pairings rather than complimenting them.   Appellation: Pomerol Areas under Vine: 1.6-hectares Average Annual Production: 600 to 700 cases per annum Soil: The soil is a mixture of gravel and clay with a little sand Grape Varieties: 92% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc Ageing: matures in 100% new oak for between 14 and 18 months Top Vintages: 1982, 1989, 1990, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006