Thienpont came to India recently, together with his friend Mark Walford, an extremely charming Englishman who deals in the finest of wines from his office in London. Thienpont and Walford, as guests of Aman Dhall of Brindco, co-hosted a series of spectacular wine dinners in Delhi and Bombay. Thienpont has a professorial air, and answers all questions related to wine meticulously and precisely. This is to be expected from a man who lives in Bordeaux, and who looks after the vineyards and wine-making processes of some of the greatest wines in the world.

Alexandre Thienpont is a tall and slender man whose youthful looks belie his age. He is almost 50, and looks 40. He and his wife Brigitte have three lovely children, Sabine 22, Guillaume 21, Thomas 18, Marie 12. While wine making is Alexandre�s passion, his favourite hobby is gliding, i.e. flying a plane without an engine! This widely travelled man considers the following restaurants as his favourites: in Paris, Le Carri des Feuillants (A. Dutournier); in Singapore, Au Jardin les Amis (Ignatius Chan); in New York, Daniel Restaurant (Daniel Boulaud).

Thienpont came to India recently, together with his friend Mark Walford, an extremely charming Englishman who deals in the finest of wines from his office in London. Thienpont and Walford, as guests of Aman Dhall of Brindco, co-hosted a series of spectacular wine dinners in Delhi and Bombay. Thienpont has a professorial air, and answers all questions related to wine meticulously and precisely. This is to be expected from a man who lives in Bordeaux, and who looks after the vineyards and wine-making processes of some of the greatest wines in the world.

Thienpont spoke in French, although his English excellent. It was Walford who translated Thienpont�s French into English, explaining the technical terms very well. His answers to my questions on the role of �terroir�, or the effect of soil and climate on wine, were very informative, especially when he explained how not only is the climate of the region important, but even the micro climate of each vine and sometimes each bunch of grapes affects the making of a great wine. The Thienpont family are Belgians, and traditionally were fine wine dealers and merchants. It was in 1979 that they purchased Chateau Le Pin. The name, Le Pin, comes from a solitary pine tree that grows near the winemaking facility, where Thienpont makes the most expensive and sought after red wine in the world.

Pomerol is on the right bank of the Gironde Estuary in the Bordeaux region. It is a nondescript area with no landmarks except a church steeple, but as you drive around the narrow roads you pass some of the greatest vineyards on earth, e.g. Chateau Petrus, all located within kissing distance of each other. Chateau Le Pin is located in the middle of the Pomerol plateau. This micro vineyard is less than five acres in size. It is planted with 92 per cent Merlot and eight per cent Cabernet Franc. The very limited production of Chateau Le Pin ranges from 500 to 600 cases per year. The vinification is truly done in the garage area under an unimpressive small house on the property. This gave rise to the term �garage wines�, denoting superb quality and very small production. There has never been an official classification of Pomerol.

Le Pin was the first of the �garage wines� or microchateau that have become cult collector wines. These wines defy the traditional classifications. Chateau le Pin is a wine that is made more in the style of California and Australia rather than Bordeaux. It is very �fruit-forward� and has great richness. It is often described with words like �exotic� and �hedonistic�. The wines from Chateau Le Pin are medium in body with delicate tannins and a fruity finish. They tend to be accessible when young and peak at about 15 years after the vintage. These wines are very showy and tend to dominate food pairings rather than complimenting them. They are virtually unobtainable, having been pre-sold to great collectors and top restaurants, in very small allocations.

The Thienpont family owns six vineyards in the region, including the great Vieux Chateau Certan which is also located in Pomerol and is just under 35 acres. Vieux Chateau Certan originated in the early 1500s. The estate has been known by its current name since 1745. In 1924 Georges Thienpont bought the chateau. The grape varieties planted are Merlot 60 per cent, Cabernet Sauvignon 10 per cent, Cabernet Franc 30 per cent. All grape harvesting is done by hand. A rigorous sorting of the fruit for quality takes place before the grapes arrive in the cellar.

Each grape variety is vinified separately for blending at a later time. The wines are finally placed in 100 per cent new oak barrels for aging. The wines stay in barrel for a period of 18 to 22 months depending on the vintage.

The wines of Vieux Chateau Certan are perfumed, complex, elegant and slow to develop. Rather than being massive, fruit forward wines that are more and more the trend, Vieux Chateau Certan maintains a very traditional style that seeks grace and elegance. Chateau Le Pin is virtually impossible to buy, so I was delighted when Mark Walford agreed to share a bottle over dinner with me in London. I was also invited by Alexandre Thienpont to visit his vineyards in Pomerol. He would act as my guide, and there would be a tasting session afterwards. How lucky can I get!