Château Pichon Comtesse Château Pichon-Lalande
Pauillac, France
Vintage:2021 (Current)
2013 (Past) | 2014 (Past) | 2015 (Past) | 2016 (Past) | 2017 (Past) | 2018 (Past) | 2019 (Past) | 2020 (Current) |
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Reviews
JamesSuckling.com 97 Points
Fantastic aromas of blackberries, blackcurrants and graphite. Metal shavings. It's medium-bodied, with a classy center-palate of fruit and fine, velvety tannins leading to an almost endless finish. This has so much class, especially for the vintage. Very low production. Drink after 2028.
Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points
A blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Merlot, that spent 18 months in 60% new oak (there’s also 13% press wine in the blend), the 2021 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande reveals a vivid purple hue to go with beautiful aromatics of pure cassis, violets, spring flowers, spicy oak, and graphite, with a beautiful sense of minerality with time in the glass. Playing in the medium-bodied end of the spectrum, it has a seamless, layered mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, no hard edges, and a pure, layered style that shines in the vintage. It's already impossible to resist but I see no reason it shouldn’t evolve for two decades.
The Wine Independent 95 Points
A blend of 88% Cabernet sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Merlot, the 2021 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande has a deep garnet-purple color. It gallops out with profound notions of juicy blackberries, freshly crushed blackcurrants, and redcurrant preserves, leading to fragrant wafts of violets, aniseed, and sassafras, with a touch of wild sage. The light to medium-bodied palate is graceful and shimmery, with a lively line and firm, fine-grained tannins framing the energetic black fruits, finishing long with a tingly, minerally lift.
The Wine Advocate 95 Points
The 2021 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande wafts from the glass with aromas of blackberries and minty cassis mingled with notes of violet, lavender, pencil shavings and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and polished, it's beautifully seamless and complete, with a fleshy core of fruit, ripe acids and sweet, powdery tannins that assert themselves on the gently structured finish. This will offer a broad drinking window. It's one of the vintage's real successes, but it also represents only one-quarter of a "normal" production.
Vinous Media 98 Points
The 2021 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a towering wine. Just as it did en primeur, the 2021 dazzles from start to finish. The Cabernets are very high in the blend, and that comes through in a Saint-Julien endowed with ton of explosive vertical lift. Lavender, dried herbs, mint, spice, rose petal and a kick of orange peel are some of the notes that run through this striking Pichon Comtesse. The aromatics alone are compelling, but everything about the 2021 speaks to class personified. Bright saline notes extend the finish. In a word: sublime.
Wine Spectator 94 Points
Plush, warm and inviting, offering waves of cassis, crushed plum and blackberry puree that cruise through, while a fine-grained structure provides support. Shows alluring accents of black tea and alder on the finish, with the fruit keeping the upper hand easily. Very polished for the vintage. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2040.
Decanter 95 Points
A gorgeous fragrance on the nose, scented and deep with green peppercorns, blackcurrant leaf, cedar, tobacco and sweet cinammon. Succulent and juicy - the high acidity hits straight away. Lean and direct, but smooth, tannins have a faint graphite grip. Tangy alomst grapefruit on the palate with red berries and freshness throughout leading up to a long-lasting flavour at the end which is added to by a salty minerality. A subtle estate magic is on show. Still young and tight, this will need a few years before opening.
Overview
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 vast majority of the vineyards are Gunzian gravel mounds of the classic Pauillac composition, with the deep bed of gravel placed over a substrata of clay and limestone. The commitment to sustainable farming practices extends throughout the 220 acres of vineyards, with over 27 acres fully converted to organic viticulture, and 37 acres farmed biodynamically.
Winemaking
After reception of the harvest, destemming 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; a little more than half 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.
Tasting Notes
The very Pauillac nose of cedar, graphite and blackcurrant is mixed with bewitching notes of morello cherry, peony and violet. The palate is complex, with fruity nuances of blackberry and morello cherry, the sweetness of praline and the delicious bitterness of cocoa beans. The tannic structure is very marked, a sign of a very precise extraction. These well-coated tannins give this wine a sumptuous body, with a savoury and dynamic finish that characterises the Cru.
Harvest Notes
After a mild and wet winter, the bud break of the vines started quite early, at the end of March. April and May, dry and cool, delayed the developing vegetation, causing a little coulure. June, which was milder, started the flowering and the growth of the vines suddenly accelerated. But this milder weather was also accompanied by record rainfall, particularly in the south of the Pauillac appellation. The young vegetation was then subjected to very strong pressure from fungal diseases, particularly mildew, which had a serious impact on the fruit set and berry development. While the Merlot was severely affected, the Cabernet, the majority of the grape varieties at Pichon Comtesse, resisted better. The cool and wet summer did not stop the progression of mildew and led to a very slow veraison. The harvest began on September 22nd, after a few rainy spells with no real consequences, and ended on October 5th.
Technical Information
Varietals: 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc. 2% Merlot
Wine Alcohol: 13%
pH: 3.8
Harvest Start Date: September 22, 2021
Harvest End Date: October 5, 2021
Soil Composition: Gravel, clay and sand
Average Vine Age: 30 years
Aging: 18 months in 60% new oak barrels