Founded in 1689, Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande has quite a spectacular history. The quality and elegance of the wines have been the maxim of all the château‘s owners since master winemaker Joseph de Pichon Longueville‘s reign in the 18th century.

For over thirty years, owner May Eliane de Lencquesaing modernized the château‘s installations in the truest respect for tradition. Her indefatigable passion elevated Pichon to a level equaled only by its consistency all over the world. In October of 2006, Lencquesaing joined forces with Champagne Louis Roederer, thus opening a new chapter in the long and magnificent history of Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande.

The unique encepagement and the twelve hectares of vines situated on the soils of Saint-Julien endow the wines of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande with exceptional complexity, elegance, and longevity compared with the other crus of the Pauillac appellation. 

After reception of the harvest, de-stemming and crushing, the grapes are placed in temperature-controlled wooden or stainless-steel vats, of variable capacity, allowing a precise and rigorous selection by plot. The heating and cooling system enables the alcoholic and malolactic fermentations to be controlled with precision. The vatting period ranges from 18 to 24 days depending on the year. Frequent pump-overs are performed to extract maximum colour and tannins from the skins.

Once blended, the wine is aged in oak barrels sourced from the Allier and Nièvre forests in France. The oak refines the wine, adding its own aromas and tannins, whilst allowing it to acquire the soft richness that is lacking in its youth, thanks to the gradual, natural contact with air through the pores of the wood.

The Grand Vin of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is aged 18 months in oak barrels; half of them are brand new; the other half are second-fill barrels. The barrels have a medium toast, which enhances their aromas. A harmonious balance of oak and wine is always sought.

Racking takes place every three months up to the bottling. Traditional fining with egg whites is still carried out to clarify the wine.

Fresh, fruity and slightly smoky nose. Smooth, elegant and delicate palate with a touch of redcurrant and wild strawberry on the finish.

We will remember 2013 as a cool, wet year, with the exception of July and August. The harvests took place quite late; at the end of September. The warm, very humid, almost tropical conditions of the vintage created a high risk of botrytis and therefore required a meticulous sorting of the grapes. This unusual vintage in Bordeaux was vinified gently in order to avoid excessive extraction. We paid careful attention to the barrel aging process in order to respect the wine’s balance between a fruity character, body and a well-honed tannic backbone.