Tasted blind as a vintage comparison at the Valandraud vertical, the 1994 Le Pin has always been one of Jacques Thienpont's great successes. It has a broody nose of mulberry, cola, tobacco, mint and undergrowth that feels just a little static at first, but begins to loosen up in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp and focused, fully mature but with more than enough freshness, segueing into a structured and lightly spiced finish with dry tobacco lingering on the aftertaste. There is weight and intention here, a Pomerol undiminished by time and a quite brilliant wine in the context of the vintage. The 1994 is the "insiders' choice." Tasted December 2016.

A beautiful 1994, and certainly one of the best wines of the vintage, this medium-bodied Le Pin shows notes of sweet oak intermixed with espresso bean, vanilla, black cherry, licorice, and white chocolate. The wine is medium-bodied, has moderately high tannin, but a luscious, sweet, succulent attack before the tannins begin to kick in. It is hard to peg the actual plateau of maturity of this wine, which seems evolved and complex aromatically but then has still plenty of tannin to shed. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2016. Last tasted, 5/02.