Pichon Comtesse Réserve, Pauillac,

Majors on savoury blue fruits, with some austere tannins at first, but there is clear precision and vivid fruit character, and a juicy mouthwatering finish. The team under Nicolas Glumineau added just a touch more new oak during ageing (70%) but only for the first three months, then back to 50%. 15hl/h yield after the Merlot in particular was impacted by mildew. First year of organic conversion, 40% of overall production.

The 2021 Reserve de la Comtesse is made from 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and 8% Petit Verdot. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it has open-knit notes of blackcurrant jelly, Morello cherries, and boysenberries, plus wafts of roses, wild sage, and fragrant earth. Medium-bodied, the mid-palate is a little thin and dilute with chewy tannins and an abrupt, savory finish.

The 2021 Réserve de la Comtesse is still tight-lipped on the nose despite rigorous coaxing, notes of graphite percolating through the black fruit. I feel that in another vintage it would give me more. The palate is medium-bodied and more expressive than the aromatics at the moment, quite concentrated in terms of its black fruit, with touches of graphite and black pepper that fan out succinctly toward the finish. It will get another point…if the nose just opens out with bottle age.