Réserve de Pichon Comtesse 2024

Nicely fragrant, very Cabernet in the aromatics, dried herbs, mint and blackcurrants. Floral, red and blue fruits, crunchy. Smooth and so succulent, cool and so sleek with a lovely soft juiciness on the mid palate. The end is taut and focused but this keeps a stylish profile, lean but with enough fruit and texture to be filling. Very sophisticated, serious and structured. Definite charm here. Very easy to drink with salty wet stones on the finish. Not demonstrative, a little severe, but classy too and still with power—it’s just funnelled. Liquorice, cola, wet stones, crushed graphite. 15% press. 50% production. Concentrated. 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, which is the highest proportion for Reserve ever. Ageing 50% new oak. pH 3.7.

Black cherries, chocolate, flowers, and a cigar box create the perfume. The wine is medium-bodied, fresh, silky, and fruity, with elegance and charm. In contention for the best second wine of the vintage, it blends 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. 12.7% ABV. pH 3.7. The harvest took place from September 23 ending October 9. Drink from 2027-2040. 91-93 Pts

The Cabernet Sauvignon’s freshness is immediately evident, with nuances that already ready the palate to welcome a host of flavours. Inviting notes of raspberry, mint and blueberry set against a backdrop of fresh oak. On the palate, the aromatic promises deliver in a juicy, immediately appealing style. The wine has good density, with muscle and still a bit of flesh. It may not be the most concentrated Réserve I’ve known, but it is probably the most thirst-quenching! Still, let’s not lose sight of the fact that the wine is at the beginning of its ageing. One to follow as it evolves. The finish is gently saline, subtly austere and persistent. A mouth-watering wine with depth and a clear sense of purpose, focused on quality—because that is exactly why it exists. Not by default, but by conviction and ability.

Unusually austere on the opening for this highly consistent wine, but things build slowly but surely, expanding through the mid-palate to show chalk, crayon, cassis and cocoa bean, grilled herbs. 48% of overall production in the Pichon Comtesse Reserve, 3.7 pH. IPT 65, 50% new oak for ageing, 15% press wine.