1986 | Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande | Pauillac

Juicy, fleshy and showy, with warm plum sauce, melted black licorice, espresso, cocoa powder and black currant confiture notes all melded together, yet clearly defined. The smoldering, tobacco-fueled finish expands steadily with air. A wine of power and range that is just hitting its stride.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Now at 30 years of age, there is a gulf between the two Pichons in this vintage that no longer exists. The 1986 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande has long been one of the best wines from the estate alongside the 1982 (even if the first bottle was a little oxidized). The second bottle was representative. It has a classic pencil-lead, cedar-infused nose that rockets from the glass, a subtle floral note developing with time. The palate is medium-bodied with supple red berry fruit, a pinch of white pepper and cedar, structured compared to coeval vintages and perhaps further along its drinking plateau than previous examples.

• Decanter: Marvellous old Bordeaux with delicate cassis, graphite, and faded violet nuances. A legendary wine for this estate, equal to the 1982 but ageing better.

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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