Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 2022 - 2rd Cru Class
One of the Médoc's great names and a true "super-second". The château is located next to Château Latour and opposite Pichon Baron, with most of the vineyards a little further inland. Pichon Lalande is one of Bordeaux's most sought-after wines. It is characterized by a slightly exotic, spicy character, plump, ripe fruit and a fine texture. The percentage of Merlot in the vineyard is high for Pauillac.
"Pichon Comtesse" covers 89 hectares of rich, Garonne gravel on clay. Eleven hectares of vines extend into the commune of Saint-Julien.
La Comtesse now belongs to the Louis Roederer champagne house and is run by the brilliant winemaker Nicolas Glumineau, the man who made the formidable Montrose 2009 and 2010 before coming here. A new cellar has just been built and recent vintages have been among the best ever produced here.
An absolute star wine with a great pedigree and brilliant winemaking.
The estate beats to the rhythm of uprooting and replanting vines, all grown biodynamically.
One of the gems from Pauillac is unquestionably the 2022 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande, which is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. A hypothetical blend of the 2019 and 2020, it's a full-bodied, concentrated, opulent Comtesse offering beautiful blue fruits, some chocolate, leafy herbs, and undeniable minerality, ripe, velvety tannins, and a great finish.
Despite the higher Cabernet Sauvignon component, this stays silky, expansive, and incredibly sexy. It's going to be drinkable with just 4-5 years of bottle age but should have a lengthy drink window. Hats off to director Nicolas Glumineau for another legendary wine from this château.
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, May 2023
Exceptionally well-mastered, it brings grip and tension alongside creamy blackberry, blackcurrant and raspberry purée, studded with cloves, cocoa bean, violet, iris, damp earth, heather, tangerine, orange zest and slate.
Another exceptional vintage from an estate at the top of its game, this wine impresses without seeming to overdo it. Precision winemaking too, with very little pumping-over, half that of ten years ago, and no addition of sulfites until barrel ageing.
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, May 2023
Data sheet
- Designation
- Pauillac
- Year
- 2022
- Color
- Red
- Delivery period
- Deliverable First semester 2025
- Acceptance
- 78 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 17 % Merlot, 5 % Cabernet Franc
- Alcohol level
- 13°65
- Apogee
- 2034 - 2060
Jean-Marc Quarin / Quarin.com - Noté 98/100 (april 2023)
Jane Anson / Inside Bordeaux - Noté 98/100 (may 2023)
Neal Martin / Vinous - Noté 96-98/100 (may 2023)
Antonio Galloni / Vinous - Noté 96-99/100 (may 2023)
Jeb Dunnuck / Jeb Dunnuck.com - Noté 97-100/100 (may 2023)
Jeff Leve / The Wine Cellar Insider - Noté 98-100/100 (april 2023)
William Kelly / Wine Advocate - Noté 97-99/100 (may 2023)
Lisa Perotti-Brown / The Wine Independent - Noté 98-100/100 (may 2023)
