Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 2023

What depth in this wine—you want to dive in. A textbook Cabernet aroma; it carries through on the palate, builds tremendous drive, yet remains highly elegant. Breed, class, length. Stunning.

This smells divine, with lovely lush blackcurrant and black cherry on the nose alongside pencil lead, graphite, liquorice and menthol notes – very Pauillac on the nose. Gorgeous weight, supple and agile, with great movement and energy. The acidity makes this buzzy, tangy and bright without going over the top, keeping its structure and a serious directness from start to finish. Generous streaks of minerality add a cool classicism. Sleek and refined, precise and very drinkable. One of a number of brilliant Pauillac wines in 2023. Winemaker Nicolas Glumineau wants it racy and it’s certainly racy. 50% grand vin production, 50% second. pH 3.67, 14.7% press wine, only Cabernet. Aged 19 months, 60–65% new oak and then one-wine barrels.

The 2023 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande has a classic aromatic profile for the Pauillac estate, with plenty of blackberry and blueberry fruit, just a hint of white flowers and pencil box. Open and welcoming, even at this stage. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins that lend this Pauillac a malleable and very seductive mouthfeel. Finely judged acidity, very harmonious, with veins of graphite running through the finish and a cedar-tinged aftertaste. Utterly delightful.

It is the vibrancy, coupled with the silky textured layers of fruit that seals the deal. But, before you get to that, the perfume, with its blend of tobacco, dark red, and black fruits, flowers, truffles, and smoke that initially grabs your attention. Silky, and sensuous, polished, fresh, and lifted, the finish with its layers of sweet, plush, silky cherries, and currants, ably express their purity and finesse. are pure. According to the chateau, the 2023 represents their version of Back to the Future. I see their point. The wine will age effortlessly for decades, yet it is going to fabulous to drink, even in its youth. The wine blends 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2028-2065.

Dark ruby garnet, opaque core, purple reflections, brightening at the rim. Delicately floral, black cherries, some cassis, a hint of nougat and spices, a multi-faceted bouquet. Juicy, complex and elegant, fine tannins, good freshness, pronounced fruit on the finish, good length, as if from a single mould; a full-bodied table wine with certain ageing potential.

Score: 96–98. An enchanting nose, like a secret garden where flowers, shrubs and trees intertwine, with a sappy note that rises and blossoms in the nostrils. Then you discover the garden’s indulgent corner, with fresh, plush fruit (blackcurrant, redcurrant, blackberry, raspberry) just begging to be picked. On the palate, this superb orchestra of fruit, flowers and sap begins a slow, poignant, ravishing adagio, caressing the roof of your mouth like brushed silk. Sublime.

Second official year of conversion to organic farming, implemented for much longer, with biodynamic trials boosting the expression of the terroir: denser, more intense, ripe yet crunchy, the wine gains in drinkability, flesh, and balance. A flavorful palette with fine notes of graphite, truffle, and blackberry.

The nose is spicy, elegant, beautifully floral and precise, with a graphite edge, aromatic depth, a subtle elegant darkness and a hint of infusion. It reveals notes of pulpy/bursting blackberry, violet, iris, peony and, more subtly, wild strawberry, fine hints of licorice stick, caramelization, lily, star anise, graphite, bright small fruits, delicately roasted-juicy small berries and a touch of sweet spices. The palate is beautifully mineral, fresh and balanced, with a fresh, tangy backbone, accuracy, tension, lovely definition, precision, indulgence, lovely freshness, a condensed feel that remains precise and fresh, depth and finesse. Nicely sapid and saline. It shows notes of juicy/pulpy blackberry, bright blackcurrant and, more lightly, fresh/bright red berries and vibrant blueberry, combined with almost Mediterranean touches, even subtly roasted fruit, precision, a graphite note, licorice, cornflower and toasty nuances. The tannins are plush, sapid and gourmand, finely chalky and nicely fresh.

96-98. Barrel Sample. A beautifully smoky wine from the Comtesse with rich tannins that are in balance with acidity. The black fruits of the dominant Cabernet Sauvignon are very forward giving a richly textured wine that will age very well. Organic and biodynamic.

Dark, intense, beautiful color. Intense, refined, fruity nose, pure and subtle. A hint of vanilla and brown sugar when you swirl the glass. Reminiscent of Margaux. Precise on the attack, very flavorful on the mid-palate, with a noble texture and a rising flavor from mid-palate to finish; the wine builds slowly, complex, to end long on aroma—only aroma, not tannin. Lots of brilliance. It’s superb.

The 2023 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is showing a more brooding, serious profile in bottle than it did from cask, unwinding in the glass with notes of blueberries, blackberries and plums mingled with hints of pencil shavings, violet and crushed mint. Medium- to full-bodied, deep and dense, with a nicely integrated chassis of sweet structuring tannin, it's classically proportioned, with a long, penetrating finish. This blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc checks in at 13% alcohol.