| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot but without any Cabernet Franc, the 2009 Pichon Lalande has a deep garnet-brick color. It charges out with vibrant notions of crème de cassis, blueberry pie, and redcurrant jelly, followed by flamboyant suggestions of dried roses, cardamom, fragrant earth, and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is rich and impactful, featuring fantastically plush tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. Absolutely scrumptious right now, it has a good 20-25 years of cellaring potential left, and I suspect there is way more gravitas in the pipeline.
A beautiful effort, the 2009 Pichon Lalande, a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, possesses copious mocha, lead pencil, unsmoked, high class tobacco, black currant, forest floor and herbaceous characteristics. It is a deep purple-hued, charming, surprisingly open-knit Pauillac with wonderful freshness, a plump, fleshy mouthfeel, opulence and unctuosity, medium to full body and a well-delineated, luscious style. More elegant than its nearby neighbor, Pichon Longueville Baron, and not as massive in concentration and extract, it is one of the great Pichon Lalandes of the last twenty years.
The 2009 Pichon-Lalande offers copious scents of boysenberry, cassis and blue fruit on the nose, a little smudged compared to the Pichon Baron but very pure. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, very rounded in the mouth thanks to the precocious Merlot content, sage and orange rind developing towards the caressing finish. A very sensual Pichon-Lalande, tempting. A great wine although the 2010 has the upper hand. 2022 - 2040
What a great nose of blackberries, currants and spices. Hints of fresh herbs. Full body, with ultra-fine tannins and lovely fruit. Such finesse and beauty. Wonderful to taste. Reminds me of the legendary 1982. Try in 2018.
Transparent crimson. Notably mineral/stony nose, then mouth-filling without being too sweet – just. Still a little tannin underneath. A please-all wine though perhaps less ambitious than Pichon Baron across the road. 2018-2034.
One of THE great names of the Médoc and a true "super-second". Pichon Lalande is one of the most demanded wines of Bordeaux. It is especially popular in the Far East thanks to its slightly exotic, spicy character and plump ripe fruit and polished texture. The Chateau is now owned by Champagne house Louis Roederer. In 2009 only 37% of production will go into the grand vin with 50% being used for La Reserve de la Comtesse and the rest for a third wine. Yield of 39 hl/ha. This is a lovely wine with great poise and balance. Quite supple and subtle, quietly classy and certainly not attempting to be a blockbuster. Round and fleshy with an exotic edge. Great purity and finesse. Classic Pichon Lalande to charm and seduce.
In the same qualitative ballpark as the 2010, if not a step up, the 2009 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande nevertheless offers more immediate pleasure and opulence, with a gorgeous perfume of blackcurrants, lead pencil, unsmoked tobacco, truffle, and spice box. A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, this full-bodied, round, mouth-filling Pauillac has sweet tannins, beautiful mid-palate depth, and a great finish. It needs an hour or two in a decant today to drink brilliantly and will unquestionably evolve gracefully for another 20-25 years.
Black fruits abound giving richness to the nose and depth of flavour on the palate. It is a serious wine with layers of flavour giving complexity, black fruits cassis and sloe giving richness, red fruits, cherry and mulberry giving freshness. There is layer upon layer of flavour, power yet sleek elegance. Drink 2020-2050.
I might be missing something here - Pichon Comtesse rarely shows really well when young - but this seemed a little below par for a second growth. Medium colour, coffee bean and vanilla oak, with fresh acidity and sweet red and black fruits. Lacks profundity? 10+ years
Black red, wonderfully fragrant nose, rich and spicy and beautifully expressively textured fruit, plenty of extraction but pure harmony, vibrant and polished, seductive length and great future. Drink 2016-35.
The blend for the 2009 Pichon Lalande is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, somewhat unusual at this estate which usually has more Merlot in the blend. As stated previously, the Cabernet Sauvignon reached levels of ripeness and intensity of flavor in 2009 never seen before in Bordeaux! The final blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot and a pH of 3.8 combines the best of a vintage such as 1996, in terms of structure, freshness, and precision, with the best of 1982, in terms of opulence, power, unctuosity, and thickness. The opaque purple-colored 2009 exhibits an intoxicatingly intense nose of red and black fruits, subtle smoke, charcoal, forest floor, and a hint of flowers. Unusually full-bodied for a wine from this estate as well as unctuously textured, voluptuous, and incredibly pure and precise, this dazzling wine should be drinkable at an early age, and evolve for 30+ years. (Tasted once.) Drink 2010-2040.
Like most Medoc chateaux, Pichon Lalande began their harvest on September 22, and finished on October 7.
Tasted at the château, the Pichon-Lalande 2009 has a taciturn nose that demands coaxing from the glass. The Cabernet Sauvignon that begins to open offering blackberry, graphite, freshly rolled tobacco and a touch of bay leaf. The palate is defined by its super-fine tannins and wonderful tension, a tangible symmetry that is reminiscent of the 1996. There is citric thread of acidity that lends the 2009 so much vivacity. It is extremely pure with blackberry, cedar and just a touch of pepper, firm grip on the finish and great persistency. This is a Pauillac to be reckoned with. Tasted November 2011.
Tasted at the château and at the UGC. A limpid deep purple colour. This has a very fragrant nose, not quite as well defined as Pichon Baron, but very elegant and graceful with blackberry, raspberry leaf, pencil lead, graphite and wild hedgerow. Very pure and feminine. Second bottle at the UGC is actually better...much more precision here, the high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon (75%) really showing through. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, very compact, not as expansive as other wines, much more conservative than I was expecting, but very graceful with an unerring sense of symmetry. I cannot help feeling that the wine would benefit from a greater percentage of Merlot, especially on the finish, but over time is does expand in the glass, becoming more and more supple, with a sense of Cabernet invoked authority on the finish. This should coalesce beautifully by time of bottling. Tasted March 2010.
From Robert Parker's Hong Kong Tasting, 8th Nov 2011:
What a nose of dried spices, even chilies, with currants and blackberries. Full bodied, with ultra-fine tannins and a compacted fruit structure. Pretty length. Very fine indeed. Classic nose with the Petit Verdot spice. Try after 2019.
Wow. This has an incredible complexity on the nose of currant, spice, mineral and flowers. Full-bodied, with a great density of fruit and tannins, yet polished and beautiful. This could be the new 1982 from here. Made from 75 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 20 percent Merlot and 5 percent Petit Verdot.
Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a little reticent to begin, slowly giving way to notions of warm black cherries, blackcurrant cordial, stewed plums and sautéed herbs with hints of damp soil, tobacco and beef drippings. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with tightly wound black fruit and earthy layers, framed by ripe, fine-grained tannins and lovely freshness making for a long, lively finish. Classic! 2020-2053
Dark crimson and a little more complex-looking than the Réserve de la Comtesse. Heady and rich and spicy and lightly gamey. Very solid and dark and dense - almost brooding. Sweet, polished and fun. Just lacks a bit of bottom and density on the palate. Very flirtatious. Complete and savoury on the finish with very polished tannins. Appetising and not at all forced. But not the most ambitious 2009.Date tasted 31st March 2010. Drink 2017-2030
