An efficient synthesis of (−)-pindolol, an effective β-blocker, has been achieved utilizing a lanthanum-lithium-(R)-BINOL ((R)-LLB) catalyzed nitroaldol reaction as a key step. This methodology was applicable to a synthesis of 13C-labeled (−)-pindolol, which would be useful as a biological tool for tracing the metabolism of β-blocker and 5-HT1A receptor antagonist. The mechanistic aspects of the LLB catalyzed nitroaldol reaction are also ...