Pichon Lalande 2017

Tasted blind. Deep ruby colour. Floral, cool and high-toned aromatics. Fragrant violets and blackcurrant. Compact yet intense, this is bursting with summer-pudding fruit. Darker cassis comes with bright acidity through the mid palate, which finishes fresh but long. The tannins are fairly gentle, allowing the fruit to shine, but there are plenty there for ageing potential. A subtle example that might shine even more when tasted in isolation.
Drink 2026 – 2039

A tight, compact young Bordeaux with medium body, polished and round tannins and a medium finish. Not a big wine, but some very classy currant and raspberry character and just a hint of lead pencil and polished structure. Drink after 2022.

The 2017 Pichon Comtesse has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It is quite closed to begin, opening out with considerable swirling to reveal a gorgeous perfume of raspberry coulis, red roses, and crushed rocks, leading to a core of cassis and blackberries, plus a hint of cedar. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant and finely crafted, delivering very fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with fantastic length.

If you just taste the big name Pauillacs, you would be hard-pressed to understand that 2017 has been a challenging year. This is one of my wines of the vintage, no question. It's from 21ha, biodynamically farmed, with Vincent Masson as consultant. Just a few plots further away from the river were affected by frost. The slight austerity of 2017 is evident, with a savoury quality to the fruit, but this is exceptionally good, with plenty of stunning fruit and well defined tannins. The aromatics are very refined, and the intense cassis fruit doesn't sacrifice any intensity or power. It demonstrates the energy that Comtesse has displayed so consistently in recent vintages, with gorgeous finesse and structure to the tannins. The new cellar has raised the level of Cabernet from 65% to 70+%, with 12% press wine. This is going to age extremely well.
Drinking Window 2026 - 2040

Dark crimson with soft pink rim. Lightly leafy dark fruit. Super-smooth texture and some fruit sweetness on the mid palate. Firm, dark and elegant on the finish. Sinewy and quite supple and long even without huge intensity, showing the charm of Comtesse and still clearly revealing its Pauillac origins. A smart, elegant wine reflecting the vintage. Tannins are tender – if more serious than on the Réserve de la Comtesse – and fruit just right.
Drink 2027-2042

Woodland violets the nose has fragrance freshness the palate depth of flavour ripe black fruits black cherry all backed by dark chocolate. There is an underlying fresh streak the finish has stylish length. Drink 2027-2041.

Very clean and firm, there is a singular theme here. The Cabernet Sauvignon is so pure and dominant that while the other varieties clearly add detail, they are lined up behind the silhouette of the Cabernet and for the time being, they have to wait to add their voices to the experience. Very satisfying and very clean, this is a wonderful expression of this property and also the vintage.