Château Pichon-Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande

Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande, 2ème Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2005

Name: Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande, 2ème Cru Classé, Pauillac
Brand: Château Pichon-Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande
Price: 1841.47 GBP

Available Vintages

all 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2012 2014 2015 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

critic reviews

93/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2005 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande has been an inconsistent performer from bottle over the years. Retasting at the château at the 20-year stage, Nicolas Glumineau poured the wine at 9.30 am and then repoured the same bottle over dinner that same day. This proved how vital it is to afford the 2005s plenty of aeration, because the second was far superior. Vivacious red fruit fills out on what had initially appeared to be a rather atypically weak nose, accented by cedar and touches of wild mint. The palate is well balanced, fresh and cohesive with decent weight on the finish. Bottles have been variable over the years, and I have meted out criticism myself. But I cannot deny that after 12 hours, this Pauillac is perhaps showing its true mettle. Perhaps the fault was never the wine, but the eagerness of us tasters to pour scorn before it had a chance to open? Tasted at the château.

DRINKING WINDOW 2025 - 2035

date of review 06/2025

95/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,The Wine Independent

A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2005 Pichon Lalande is deep garnet-brick in color. It prances out with a gorgeous perfume of rose oil, licorice, and chocolate-covered cherries, over a core of warm cassis, redcurrant jelly, and sassafras. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers exquisitely soft, silky tannins and seamless freshness to frame the elegant black and red fruit layers, finishing long and perfumed. Tasted at the Chateau, it's amazing how much this wine has woken up since I last tasted it about a year ago, and it still seems to have a lot more left to give!

DRINKING WINDOW 2022 - 2047

date of review 11/2022

96/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

Love the colour of this, deep damson, generous and enticing. The tannins are just astonishingly finessed and generous, chocolate, cedar, cocoa bean, so well constructed, combining depth to the fruit with feather-pillow tannins. Clearly young, decades ahead of it, but this is already confident and enjoyable, effortlessly standing out from this lineup of exceptional wines. It lacks the weight and concentration of the 2009 or 2010 of Comtesse, but it's showing extremely well, and seems to be gaining in power. 50% new oak.

DRINKING WINDOW 2022 - 2055

date of review 09/2022

89/100Robert Parker,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2005 Pichon Lalande, with its aromatics of cassis, forest floor and earth are followed by a medium-bodied wine that doesnt have quite the length and richness the aromatics suggest. Nevertheless, it is medium-bodied, elegant, and pure, and a classic example for this chateau. Drink it now as well as over the next 15 or so years. It is showing better than my earlier notes suggest.

DRINKING WINDOW 2015 - 2030

date of review 06/2015