| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Super-ripe black cherry, plum, smoke, licorice make a strong opening statement in the 2008 Pichon Lalande. The late harvest that year yielded a decidedly super-ripe, exotic Pichon Lalande with captivating inner sweetness and gorgeous textural finesse. Naturally, the 2008 is young. Very young. Even so, it is stunning. Readers looking for an under-the-radar vintage to cellar of Pichon Lalande will find tremendous satisfaction and pure pleasure in the 2008. An Indian summer saved what had up until that time been a rainy and not especially promising vintage. 2017 - 2037
In 2008 the blend for Pichon Lalande was 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. It has a deep garnet-brick color and rocks up with ready-to-go scents of warm cassis, boysenberry preserves, and baked plums, plus hints of spice cake, Sichuan pepper, and cigar box. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant and refreshing with fine-grained tannins and understated black fruit and savory layers, finishing long and minerally. It is drinking wonderfully now, in that sweet spot between fruitiness and maturity, however, it still has a good 15-20 years+ of cellaring potential.
The 2008 is a beauty in the style of the 1988. Although not performing as well as I predicted last year, it is unquestionably an outstanding effort as well as one of the better values from Pichon Lalande in many years. Its dense plum/purple hue is accompanied by sweet aromas of red and black currants, charcoal, herbs, underbrush and a hint of truffles. This medium-bodied, rich, concentrated blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc is an elegant, supple Pichon Lalande that can be drunk now or cellared for 15-20 years.
The 2008 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande has an expressive, open bouquet that is more forward than I would have expected (indeed, there was more degradation on the rim than you would expect.) The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red berry fruit laced with cedar and sea salt. I like the harmony and the fleshiness imparted by the Merlot towards the finish, although I expect Pichon Baron represents the longer-term prospect. This is more enjoyable than cerebral. 2018 - 2035
Currant, mint and prune, with hints of wet earth. Full and velvety, with lots of fruit and silky, firm tannins. Long finish. Very pretty
Dense crimson with a slightly weak rim. Scented, aromatic. Just 29% Merlot but this seems very fleshy and seductive. Not the firmest 2008 though there were dry tannins on the finish. A little lighter than some - a rather different, less dense wine than some more ambitious 2008 Pauillacs - but should give lots of pleasure. Very rich and round and flattering. There is ripeness and real charm here too. Impressive length.
The nose is quite fragrant smoky with woodland violets. The fruit is ripe enriching the mid palate
with a mix of cassis and black cherry underpinned by chocolate. The sweetness of the fruit is
nicely balanced by freshness bilberry and bramble. 2015-2030
The 2008 Pichon Lalande's 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%.
Tasted ex-château and single blind in Southwold. The Pichon Lalande 2008 is backward on the nose: tightly coiled blackberry, raspberry, cedar and mint: classic Pauillac fruit profile. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, very well knit, a little softer and more forward but very composed with a pure, velvety finish. This is a beautiful, filigree Pauillac that should repay extended cellaring. Tasted January 2012.
This has a deep garnet/purple colour. The nose is tightly-wound, ripe blackberry, plum, pencil shavings and a touch of green leaves. Moderate definition. This is quintessential Pichon-Lalande on the nose, lovely silky mouthfeel, very fine tannins, beautifully balanced, certainly not a powerful Pauillac, but very refined and elegant with blueberry, cassis and crushed stones. It just leaves the mouth lacquered in Cabernet. Wonderful - Pichon is on a roll!
A rich mix of black fruits fleshes out the nose and lends weight to the palate. Blackcurrant and plum are enriched by rounded tannins the whole given elegance and brightness by bilberry and bramble. It is a wine with balance and length
