Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 2015

This is the new taste for this estate: richly endowed while remaining elegant and suave. Certainly, there is great concentration here as well as rich black fruits. But they are given a sense of style and poise that will remain with this wine as it ages. Drink from 2026.

Beautifully extracted, this is rich, ripe and layered. It is utterly gorgeous and has real precision and tension. It delivers its Pauillac swagger with the most gentle of hands - the tannins are fine, layered-up and building their defences without imposing too heavily on the succulent black fruits. It judges the vintage extremely well and is the best in this line-up for me. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 60% new oak.

Tasted blind. Dark garnet. Some liquorice intrigue on the nose. Thick, almost furry! Lots of tannin on the end. More obvious alcohol and density than most of the Pauillacs. (JR)

Rich, silky, opulent, and packed with layers of rich, ripe, supple-textured, fresh, ripe fruits, you find a multi-layered, experience with length, volume, and complexity that is made even better with the velvety tannins and a finish that does not want to quit. You can start drinking this now, or you can age it for the secondary nuances that are going to start arriving with just a few additional years. Drink from 2025-2050.

Dark ruby with purple reflections, subtly lighter at the rim. Attractive dark-berry confit, delicate cassis, some nougat and subtle fine oak spiciness. Complex, juicy and elegant, with ripe cherry fruit, integrated tannins and a certain minerality. Persistent, with fine touches of chocolate on the finish. Well developed, but should nevertheless be allowed to age for a few more years.

I tasted the 2015 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande on three separate occasions rating it 97 twice and 98 once. Checking in as a final blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this is a nuanced style of wine that grows on you with time in the glass, and the larger Merlot component always gives it a more supple, seductive texture. Crème de cassis, black raspberries, spring flowers, leafy herbs and lead pencil notes all flow to a full-bodied, ultra-pure, seamless beauty that builds on the palate, has fine tannin and a great, great finish. As classy as they come, it will continue to impress for two to three decades.

Lalande: 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Extremely deep purple with lilac and violet highlights. A ripe, complex bouquet with plenty of dark berries and underlying dark chocolate notes. On the second nose, the faintest hint of dried fruit, with the first notes of cedar and tobacco showing through. Full-bodied on the palate, with ripe, intense astringency, joined by blueberry and blackcurrant notes, and an incredible aromatic intensity carried through to a virtually brawny finish. Along with Lafite, the best Pauillac! So, as last year, it fully deserves the top score. Pichon-Lalande is on an absolute high. This wine simply blew me away. The next day, I tasted it again at the estate. There is an incredible amount of aromatic expression and potential in it.

A CENTURY WINE WITH A “LONG PLATEAU” René Gabriel: “What’s the difference between the already sensational 2014 and this 2015?” Nicolas Glumineau: “We simply have a little more of everything: density, depth, tannin and intensity as well.” Gabriel: “Is it even better than 2009 or 2010?” Glumineau: “Maybe not better, but different. Or rather, exactly what a truly great Pichon-Lalande should be. A perfect symbiosis between a full-bodied Pauillac and a superb Pichon-Lalande.” Gabriel: “Are there enough bottles for the die-hard fans?” Glumineau: “We had a very decent crop size, which allowed us to select a lot for the Grand Vin. By today’s standards, it’s a lot. In the past—before my time—we also had harvests that yielded twice as much as this year. Admittedly, with less thrilling quality.” Gabriel: “And when will this 2015 reach its best drinking window?” Glumineau: “I estimate the start of its drinking window from 2027, with a long plateau.” Gabriel: “Plateau???” Glumineau: “Yes—plateau. Unfortunately, many wine lovers define drinking maturity as a peak, a high point. A great Bordeaux reaches maturity at some stage and then delivers maximum drinking pleasure for a very long time—sometimes for decades—even as it shifts from fruit aromas to terroir-driven notes. So you can definitely speak of a plateau!” Barrel tasting 2016: 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Extremely dark purple with lilac and violet highlights. A ripe, complex bouquet with plenty of dark berries, underpinned by notes of dark chocolate. On the second nose, a tiny hint of dried fruit, with first notes of cedar and tobacco emerging. Full-bodied on the palate, showing a ripe, intense astringency; blueberries and blackcurrant notes, with an incredible aromatic drive carried through a seemingly burly finish. Along with Lafite, the best Pauillac! So it also deserves the maximum score—just like last year. Pichon-Lalande has clearly been soaring at an absolute level in recent years. It was the last wine at the Union des Grands Crus tasting at Lafon-Rochet, so I was able to compare it very well with its competitors. This one practically knocked me out. The next day, I re-tasted it at the estate. There is an incredible amount of aromatic complexity here, and it also has fine reserves. (20/20). 19: Very deep garnet-purple with a clearly ruby rim. An idiosyncratic bouquet, starting with an almost compote-like sweetness, hints of honey, pale malt, dried chamomile. I’m also reminded of lingonberry and blackberry juice. In summary: first lots of small, ripe red berries, then a touch of animal character in the form of deer leather. On the palate, peppery, compact, tightly wound, still showing little of its true potential. Towards the finish, it reveals a high level of Cabernet ripeness and moves into the finale sweetly and in a focused manner. Just after being poured, it struggled. I tasted it again after extended aeration and the evolution was heading in the right direction. For the moment, however, it cannot fully substantiate its euphoric en primeur rating (20/20). So patience is required. (19/20).

This vintage fits Comtesse’s style perfectly, bringing its usual richness and creamy texture. Proof that it’s possible to craft a great, refined Pauillac while retaining plenty of charm.

A deep garnet red with purple highlights. Intensity and complexity are the key words of this bouquet… not forgetting authenticity and a true sense of terroir! With notes of graphite, cedar, fir needles and black berries such as blackberry and blueberry, the range is broad. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and compact, with very fine tannins that build in a crescendo right through the finish. The aromatic expression is sustained and present across the entire palate, ideally supported by the structure’s freshness. A great wine that so brilliantly combines power and finesse. Long, persistent finish.

Deep, intense, beautiful color. Very aromatic nose, with fine, subtle fruit, slightly creamy. A hint of licorice. Very delicate on the attack, then nuanced on the palate, highly perfumed; the wine caresses the palate—sapid, fresh and long—showing a slight lull between the mid-palate and the finish, but it is very good.