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Pichon Lalande
Bordeaux
Burgundy
Chateau Pichon Longueville de Lalande is ideally situated between the Gironde estuary and the Atlantic Ocean. These two masses of water favour the movement of air, which clears the sky of clouds and reduces rainfall. The region of Pauillac benefits from a microclimate that is relatively dry which helps the concentration of the grapes. Since the end of the 1970's, the reputation of Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande has acquired the status of a "super second" and a "nearly first", in light of the consistency of its quality. The key word in this success is selection, from the period of the grape harvest to, above all, the preparation of the cuvee. The wine sees 18-24 days of tank fermentation, 18 months barrel maturation, with 50% new oak and 50% old oak. Wines are racked every 3 months and the fining is always done with whipped egg whites. The bottling is carried out at the Chateau at the beginning of June of the second year following the grape harvest.
| Vint | Description | Cl | ? | Cs | Bt | Cs | Bt | + |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tasting Notes: The 2008 Pichon LalandeÕs final blend was 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Only 38% of the crop made it into the grand vin, and the result is a wine that blows away the 2005. Terrific texture and opulence, forward fruit, sweet tannin, and a lush personality are found in this dense purple-colored 2008 along with copious quantities of sweet berries, roasted coffee, underbrush, black currant, and black cherry fruit. Sensationally pure, textured, and full-bodied, this will be a flamboyant, showy offering in its youth, but it is capable of lasting 20-30 years. This is another top estate with very low yields (42 hectoliters per hectare) that achieved an atypically high alcohol level of 13%. Robert Parker Wine Advocate April 2009 Parker Points: 94-96 Drinking Period: 2009-2039 |
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Tasting Notes: The brilliant, opulent, fleshy 2003 Pichon Lalande (65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot) possesses a high pH of 3.8 as well as 13% alcohol. Reminiscent of the 1982 Pichon Lalande (which never shut down and continues to go from strength to strength), the dense plum/purple-colored 2003 offers gorgeous aromas of blackberries, plum liqueur, sweet cherries, smoke, and melted licorice. Fleshy, full-bodied, and intense, displaying a seamless integration of wood, acidity, tannin, and alcohol, this beauty can be drunk now or cellared for 20 years or more. Wine Advocate # 164 Apr 2006 Parker Points: 95 Drinking Period: 2006-2026 |
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Tasting Notes: The brilliant, opulent, fleshy 2003 Pichon Lalande (65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot) possesses a high pH of 3.8 as well as 13% alcohol. Reminiscent of the 1982 Pichon Lalande (which never shut down and continues to go from strength to strength), the dense plum/purple-colored 2003 offers gorgeous aromas of blackberries, plum liqueur, sweet cherries, smoke, and melted licorice. Fleshy, full-bodied, and intense, displaying a seamless integration of wood, acidity, tannin, and alcohol, this beauty can be drunk now or cellared for 20 years or more. Wine Advocate # 164 Apr 2006 Parker Points: 95 Drinking Period: 2006-2026 |
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Tasting Notes: The 1999 Pichon Lalande performed inconsistently. This wine is a blend of 47% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 7% Petit Verdot. It offers a complex, evolved bouquet of cedar, underbrush, red currants, and spice box. The dark ruby color is not as saturated as many 1999s, and the wine possesses the weight and style of the 1979 and 1981 (both of which are superior to 1999). There is medium body, excellent ripeness, and an angular finish, without the persistence typically found at this chateau. Wine Advocate # 140 Apr 2002 Parker Points: 87 Drinking Period: 2002-2012 |
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Tasting Notes: One of the stars of the vintage, the 1988 has evolved beautifully. Dark ruby, with a full-intensity bouquet of black plums, herbs, and currants, a silky smooth texture, and full body, it is one of the most highly extracted wines of the vintage. Seductively precocious, it should drink superbly over the next 10-15 years. Robert Parker Wine Advocate Parker Points: 90 Drinking Period: 1993-2008 |
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Tasting Notes: I have had this wine a half-dozen times over the last eleven months, and have rated it either 98, 99, or 100 on every occasion. It is a fully mature, sumptuous, gloriously perfumed, luxuriously rich Pauillac the likes of which are rarely encountered. The color is a dark plum/ruby with amber at the edge. Spectacular aromatics offer up cedar, smoke, jammy black and red fruits, minerals, licorice, and toast. Unctuously-textured and full-bodied, with low acidity, fabulously sweet, rich fruit, surprising definition for a wine of such lushness and intensity, this is one of the vintage's most compelling and profound efforts. It has been delicious since birth, but absolutely stupendous over the last decade. How much longer can it hold onto its magic? My guess is that it should be consumed over the next 5-7 years. Robert Parker Wine Advocate Parker Points: 100 Drinking Period: 2000-2007 |
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