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
Made from a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc, the second wine, the 2009 Reserve de la Comtesse, exhibits notes of forest floor, white chocolate, licorice, black currants and vanillin-infused black cherries. It possesses a sweet, round, generous style given its high glycerin. Both the Reserve de la Comtesse and Pichon Lalande have about 13% alcohol, slightly lower than most Pauillacs achieved in 2009. Drink it over the next 10 years.
Currants and flowers on the nose. Dried spices as well. Full-bodied, with silky yet chewy tannins and a long finish. Dense and solid. Second wine of Pichon-Lalande.
Dark crimson. Very fragrant. Lifted, luscious and lively. Relatively light bodied and flirtatious. More transparent than most 2009s. Just a bit angular and sinewy. Fades just a little fast. Date tasted 31st March 2010. Drink 2015-2023.
Black red, big smoky wild violets nose, seductive fruit , fleshy and lifted, a really lovely Saint-Julien style Pauillac, all of a piece. Drink 2014-2022.
The 2009 Reserve de la Comtesse has an intriguing bouquet with touches of undergrowth and a hint of liquorice underneath those ripe black fruits. The oak sticks out a little at the moment but it will integrate with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a touch of soy on the entry. It fans out nicely across the mid-palate, the Merlot very expressive at the moment with a dash of white pepper towards the cohesive finish. Nice length and posture. Tasted November 2011.
For the vintage, this Reserve has an exuberant, most approachable nose with red-berries, kirsch, graphite, sous-bois and cigar box. Very Pauillac. Moderate definition, actually closing up a little in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, lots of tobacco/cigar box flavours infusing the black, dusky fruit. Nicely balanced, if just a little too conservative towards the austere, smoky finish. Tasted March 2010.