Le Pin 2010

Wine Advocate Parker:

Made from 100% Merlot (one percent for each rating point I've assigned), this wine is explosively rich and compelling. Dense plum/purple, it boasts the remarkable delineation and freshness that are hallmarks of this vintage. From a much smaller production than normal because of Merlot's poor flowering, the very hot, dry growing and harvest conditions, this is a super-endowed, very rich Le Pin with its exotic new oak largely buried behind its extravagant concentration, power and richness. Rich, tannic, but exceptionally well-endowed, this is a sublime example of Merlot at its very finest. Forget it for 5-7 years (which is somewhat unusual for Le Pin) and drink it over the following three decades.

James Suckling:

Delivers the distilled essence of raspberry and kirsch fruit, from the captivating aromas to the racy, palate-coating feel, echoing nearly endlessly through the finish. There's also notes of briar, lightly pebbly tannins and a lingering hint of allspice to give this a shimmering background effect. In the end, this is primarily about the stunning purity of fruit on display.

Wine Spectator:

This is a stunning display of purity, with lush raspberry and boysenberry fruit, that never gets heady despite its obvious weight. Alluring spice and graphite notes flicker, but for now this is still exuberantly youthful and primal. And very, very long.