2020 | Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande | Pichon Comtesse Reserve

This has a dark currant- and blackberry-filled core supported by a racy graphite spine that runs from start to finish, adding energy and cut. Reveals sweet tobacco, chestnut and tar hints on the finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Composed of 47% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Reserve de la Comtesse is redolent of cassis, redcurrant jelly and raspberry coulis, plus suggestions of chocolate box, lilacs and stewed tea, with a waft of unsmoked cigars. The medium-bodied palate delivers mouth-coating, juicy black fruits with a soft texture and seamless freshness, finishing long with a spicy kick. This is a very different style from the grand vin, possessing a more playful, upfront and effortlessly delicious character that truly draws you in!

• James Suckling: A tight, focused red with currants, chocolate, walnuts and some flowers. Medium-to full-bodied with ripe tannins. Pretty second wine.

Producer Information

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a highly regarded wine estate in the Pauillac appellation of the Haut-Médoc region of northern Bordeaux. of the most significant second growths in Pauillac, Bordeaux. Often shortened in common parlance to "Pichon-Lalande" or "Pichon Comtesse" (partly to differentiate it from neighbor, Château Pichon-Longueville Baron), the estate produces a regularly lauded, Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant grand vin. Pichon-Lalande also neighbors first-growth powerhouse, Château Latour at the southern end of the Pauillac appellation. All three estates share something of a similar terroir and climate, which partly helps to explain the quality of the wine at Comtesse de Lalande – is sometimes referred to as "nearly first growth". The Pichon-Lalande estate covers 85 hectares (210 acres) in both Pauillac and Saint-Julien. The Saint-Julien holding covers twelve hectares (30 acres) and although the estate has produced a simpled labeled Saint-Julien, this wine is now rarely encountered. Five Bordeaux grapes are grown on the estate's vineyards, although the grand vin is historically dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot (with Cabernet Sauvignon making up 60 percent of the blend). Wines from Comtesse de Lalande are some of the more voluptuous to come from the Médoc due to the high proportion of Merlot in the wine. However, the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blends is increasing to lend more structure and backbone to future vintages. This will not decrease Merlot's place in the cuvée, but rather the amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Orignally, Comtesse de Lalande was part of a larger property formally known as Château Pichon Longueville, owned by the Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville who died in 1850. Upon his death, his children Raoul and Virginie inherited half of the property each. Raoul's half became Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, while Virginie's became Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. The estate was acquired by the Miailhe family (a prominent Bordeaux dynasty which initially established itself as wine brokers in the region but went on to own numerous estates and properties) in 1925. It remained in the family for much of the Twentieth Century but, from the 1980s to the 2000s, the estate was most associated with Miailhe heir May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, who ran the estate through this period of growth. Lencquesaing's custodianship of the estate remains widely praised through this time although the château was eventually sold to Champagne Louis Roederer in 2007. Prior to the sale, Lencquesaing established the Glenelly wine estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

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