Description

Red Wine: 2008 | Chteau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande | Pauillac

Vivbrant, medium to deep ruby-red color with dark pigmentation. Lifted cassis aromas on the nose have a leafy touch.

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Producer: Chteau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Ratings: WA | 92 JS | 93

Vintage: 2008

Size: 750ml

ABV: 13%

Varietal: Bordeaux Blend Red

Country/Region: France, Bordeaux

Vivbrant, medium to deep ruby-red color with dark pigmentation. Lifted cassis aromas on the nose have a leafy touch. On the palate crunchy blackcurrant fruit is lifted by fresh acidity. There is plentiful tannic grip, which contributes a slight bitterness at the finish, which shows plentiful cedary notes. Alcohol is balanced & flavors last very well.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The 2008 is a beauty in the style of the 1988. Although not performing as well as I predicted last year, it is unquestionably an outstanding effort as well as one of the better values from Pichon Lalande in many years. Its dense plum/purple hue is accompanied by sweet aromas of red and black currants, charcoal, herbs, underbrush and a hint of truffles.

• James Suckling: A tight and tangy red with currant, spice and dried mushroom character. Full body, chewy tannins and a fresh finish. This needs time to open.

Producer Information

Chteau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a highly regarded wine estate in the Pauillac appellation of the Haut-Mdoc 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, Chteau Pichon-Longueville Baron), the estate produces a regularly lauded, Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant grand vin. Pichon-Lalande also neighbors first-growth powerhouse, Chteau 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 Mdoc 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 cuve, but rather the amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Orignally, Comtesse de Lalande was part of a larger property formally known as Chteau 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 Chteau Pichon-Longueville Baron, while Virginie’s became Chteau 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 chteau was eventually sold to Champagne Louis Roederer in 2007. Prior to the sale, Lencquesaing established the Glenelly wine estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa.