Le Pin

Le Pin is one of the most expensive wines in the world. The original ‘garage’ wine, Jacques Thienpont bought the minute 1.6 hectare vineyard for one million francs in 1979. Since then he has gone on to buy tiny pieces of adjoining land, doubling the size of Le Pin which still only brings the total production to 600 - 700 cases a year. Together Jacques Thienpont and famous consultant Michel Rolland went on to create a cult wine, with seriously high prices further driven by limited production.

The south facing vineyard is on a well drained gravelly slope and was named after a solitary pine tree on the property.

“My winemaking is simple; I try to do as little as possible to the grapes in their transition from vineyard to bottle. My motto is: Simple mais Distingué or Simple but Distinguished. Le Pin has great class, one shouldn’t meddle with that.”Jacques Thienpont, Owner and Winemaker

“The obvious question is, is it worth the price? If you can afford it, YES. I can’t afford a 599 Ferrari, but I think it is worth the price. You get the idea. I always remain hopeful that I'll win the lottery, or that a long-lost cousin from Norfolk, England, will leave me the lost family fortune. More dreams …” James Suckling, The Wine Spectator