People
History
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is located on Bordeaux’s Left Bank, in the world-renowned Pauillac appellation. Under the 1855 Classification, which Napoleon III requested for the Exposition Universelle de Paris, Pichon-Lalande falls under the Deuxièmes Grands Crus Classés, or Second Classified Growth category.
Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande and Pichon Longueville Baron were once one large property. At the time of Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville’s death in 1850, his estate was split between his two children: his daughter Virginie who married the Comte de Lalande (Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande) and his son Raoul who inherited the title of Baron (Château Pichon Longueville Baron).
Edouard and Louis Miailhe, descendants of an old Bordeaux family of vineyard owners and wine brokers, purchased Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in 1925. May Eliane de Lencquesaing, Edouard’s daughter, inherited it in 1978 and ran it until 2007. It was under her ownership that Pichon Comtesse’s reputation as a prized Pauillac wine flourished and earned its “super second” reputation (referring to its Second Growth classification). The consistent quality, year after year, was simply indisputable. The château's seminal 1982 vintage even garnered the perfect score of 100 points by wine critic Robert Parker.
In 2007, eager to ensure the continuing success of the estate in the same philosophy — with a focus on impeccable land stewardship — May Eliane de Lencquesaing sold the property to the Rouzaud family, owners and descendants of Louis Roederer.
Directors
Nicolas was born in 1974 and has been living in Bordeaux for 25 years. He studied at the University of Oenology in Bordeaux with Professor Denis Dubourdieu and obtained a Master of Genetics applied to oenology.
He furthered his studies at the National Agronomic School of Montpellier to become an engineer in viticulture and winemaker. Nicolas began his career at Château Haut-Brion in 2005 and Château Margaux in 2006.
In 2012, he became the general manager and winemaker at Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (Pauillac) and Château de Pez (Saint-Estèphe), owned by Maison Louis Roederer.