Château Pichon-Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande

Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande, 2ème Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2017

Name: Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande, 2ème Cru Classé, Pauillac
Brand: Château Pichon-Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande
Price: 668.74 GBP

Available Vintages

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

justerini & brooks tasting note

Produced from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. We were fortunate enough to taste some of the components back in January. It was clear then that the quality was exceptional, but tasting the final assemblage more than confirmed our preconceptions. Nicolas Glumineau has set the bar very high, so we have a certain level of expectation, but year after year it is met and exceeded. Nicolas' handling of this terroir is masterful. He has kept the feminine, pure Pauillac character with its haunting aromas and refined fruit and enhanced it, but has also extracted a little more flesh and roundness giving this a more satisfying mid palate that only previously came from the exceptional vintages such as 1982. He has also achieved a level of precision that is hard to find anywhere else in Bordeaux. The flavours are so well delineated and clear. It opens with a grand overture of meadow flowers, briar fruit, loganberries, graphite and salts. It has such impressive purity on the palate; waves of delectable fruits wash over the mouth seamlessly revealing new nuances. Pure crème de cassis and mulberry are interspersed with notes of coal, cocoa nibs and starry fruits; this is perhaps a little more savoury and sultry than the previous three vintages, but although it is serious and grown up, it feels quite relaxed and at ease. There is superb texture from the authoritative tannins that add extra complexity and grip. This is such a complete wine that flows gracefully from start to its very long noble finish. One of the finest wines we tasted this year!

critic reviews

95/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

Dark chocolate shavings against the sun-sweetened damson and blackberry fruits, with notes of crushed earth, saffron, caramel and coffee. Not quite integrated at this stage, but there is smart winemaking on display. The riverside location of Pichon Comtesse meant they were not impacted by the frost unlike so many estates in the 2017 vintage, and the wine has much in common with the 2011 - sculpted and finessed but a little less concentrated than the biggest vintages. 36hl/h yeld, 3.8ph, 60% new oak

DRINKING WINDOW 2024 - 2045

date of review 09/2021

94/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2017 Pichon-Lalande has closed down a little on the nose since it was bottled late June. But it is still very well defined, quite Cabernet-influenced with cedar and graphite aromas emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins. It is a very lithe Pichon-Lalande that in some ways harks back to the fleshier vintages of the past. There is something "sedate" and self-effacing about this 2017, and that is meant in a good way. Harmonious, refined, almost effortless and probably medium rather than long-term drinking.

DRINKING WINDOW 2022 - 2045

date of review 02/2020