Tasted blind, I mistook the 2006 Le Pin for the 2005, and it is drinking very well today, bursting with aromas of dark berries, incense, sweet spices and creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, broad and fleshy, with an ample core of rich, succulent fruit and powdery structuring tannins, it concludes with a long, expansive finish.

Exotic, as it often can be, with super-ripe mulberry and black cherry fruit to the point of near-kirsch liqueur, with notes of licorice, truffle, and forest floor, this is a full-bodied, concentrated wine with a slight tannic bite to the finish. There is good freshness, depth, and power, and despite the flamboyant aromatics, this wine needs a good 3-5 years of cellaring and should keep for 15 or more years.