“Lovely grilled and graphite notes right off the bat; this is big and muscular, and extremely Pauillac. There is grace here too, with raspberry purée, cassis, fig and blackberry fruits set against charcoal and fine tannins that quickly build up to suggest how well this will age. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 60% new oak used. 13% press wine.”

“Crazy aromas of sweet tobacco and black fruit. Tar and lead pencil, too. Blackcurrants and blackberries. Solid core of fruit and ripe tannins here. It’s full-bodied and chewy. Extremely long. Fascinating wine. Structure with elegance. Extremely creamy and very, very melted together. A classically proportioned wine. 71% cabernet sauvignon, 23% merlot, and 6% cabernet franc.”

“The 2019 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande was picked 16 September to 8 October. It has a showstopping nose: intense black fruit laced with graphite and mint. (Whisper it...it reminds me of their First Growth next door neighbor.) The palate is underpinned by very refined tannins that cradle what may well be the purest fruit you will find in this vintage. Unbelievably precise all the way through to the finish, I admit staring at my glass trying to find fault with it. Unless winemaker Nicolas Glumineau gets distracted by the new Cure album and makes a catastrophic error during the rest of its élevage, which he is not prone to doing, you are not looking at a modern-day 1982 or 2016, but something even better and more profound. Tasted from three bottles with consistent notes.”

“This is well structured and approaches 2010 in terms of its weight and depth of fruit. Deep spiced damson on the nose, you would be hard pressed not to say that this is as good as very many Cru Bourgeois 1st wines. Huge depth, similar to the 2018 but a little higher acidity, a little less round, a little more classic Pauillac in character. This is confident and serious with lots of tannins. A great 2nd wine, and a reminder of the consistently successful winemaking that is happening at this estate.”

“A serious, muscled Pichon Comtesse that grabs you from the first nose. The width and texture is evident, feeling both more plush and supple in its fruit character. It's elegant and balanced but packed full of textured raspberries, blueberries and cassis, juicy, with a rise on the finish and clear tannic grip. Very Pauillac in style, more so than the 2018 with great length. Not as structured as the 2016 or the 2010 but not far off and this is easily one of the wines of the vintage. Its heft shares some similarities to its neighbour Latour, which is not always the case in this most feminine of Pauillac wines. Closes down pretty quickly on the finish, suggesting the initial rich fruit is a hint of what is to come but that it will take its time to show itself in bottle. Tasted twice, four weeks apart and it delivered both times. No Petit Verdot in this vintage.”