Le Pin, Pomerol

The wine that created the garage wine phenomenon. When Jacques Thienpont purchased this tiny 2.3-hectare estate in 1979, he could not have anticipated that it would eventually command prices exceeding First Growths. Made from old-vine merlot on sandy, clay-rich soils adjacent to Pétrus, Le Pin is voluptuous, hedonistic and utterly seductive — the polar opposite of Left Bank austerity. Its scarcity (fewer than 700 cases annually) and extraordinary quality have made it one of the most coveted bottles in Bordeaux.