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Pichon Lalande 1996

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot
Also available in the following mixed case:

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Label

Tasting Notes

The 1996 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is really beginning to drink with style, wafting from the glass with an inviting nose of blackberries, cassis, cherries, rich soil tones, Cuban cigar and subtle hints of mint and bergamot. Medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with an expansive, sumptuous core of fruit that's underpinned by ripe acids and ripe, powdery virile tannins, it concludes with a long, penetrating and sapid finish. This unusually Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated vintage was tightly wound for its first two decades, but as time passes it's the château signature that's dominating the cépagement. It's one of the wines of the vintage in 1996. 2016 - 2056

97
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (259), February 2022

The 1996 Pichon-Lalande has long been one of the high points of this Pauillac estate and now at 20 years of age it is firing on all cylinders. You cannot have any complaints against the nose: intense blackberry, cedar and graphite, all beautifully delineated, demand your attention. The palate offers exquisite balance, refined and yet intense, the Cabernet Sauvignon clearly in the driving seat but assisted by the Merlot that imparts the crucial fleshy texture on the finish. Red berry fruit, cigar box, mint, juniper berries ... this is a complex and riveting Pauillac wine that is going to cruise along its drinking plateau for many years. This is outstanding. Drink 2016-2040.

96
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (227), October 2016

The 1996 Pichon-Lalande is just as awesome from bottle as it was from multiple cask tastings. For Pichon-Lalande, the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon is atypically high. This wine normally contains 35-50% Merlot in the blend, but the 1996 is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. Only 50% of the estate's production made it into the grand vin. The color is a saturated ruby/purple. The nose suggests sweet, nearly overripe Cabernet Sauvignon, with its blueberry/blackberry/cassis scents intermixed with high quality, subtle, toasty new oak. Deep and full-bodied, with fabulous concentration and a sweet, opulent texture, this wine was singing in full harmony when I tasted it in January. Given the wine's abnormally high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, I would suspect it will close down. It possesses plenty of tannin, but the wine's overwhelming fruit richness dominates its personality. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2025.

96
Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (4), December 2003

The 1996 Pichon Lalande is deep garnet-brick in color. It starts off a little closed, slowly revealing notes of warm cassis, stewed plums, unsmoked cigars, and crushed rocks, giving way to nuances of smoked meats and black truffles. The medium-bodied palate is pure, precise, and energetic, featuring elegant, fine-grained tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long and mineral-laced. Still very youthful, this wine should easily cellar another 15-20 years.

97
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, November 2022

Light nose. Dark crimson. Very full and broad and well balanced and yet with hardly discernible tannin until the very very end. Quite forward but a lovely drink. Nothing out of place. A much better bottle than we saw in the first line-up. Drink 2005-12

17.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, September 2006
93
Farr Vintners, 1996 Bordeaux Blind Tasting 8/9/2006, September 2006
Read more tasting notes...

The 1996 Pichon-Lalande is just as awesome from bottle as it was from multiple cask tastings. For Pichon-Lalande, the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon is atypically high. This wine normally contains 35-50% Merlot in the blend, but the 1996 is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. Only 50% of the estate's production made it into the grand vin. The color is a saturated ruby/purple. The nose suggests sweet, nearly overripe Cabernet Sauvignon, with its blueberry/blackberry/cassis scents intermixed with high quality, subtle, toasty new oak. Deep and full-bodied, with fabulous concentration and a sweet, opulent texture, this wine was singing in full harmony when I tasted it in January. Given the wine's abnormally high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, I would suspect it will close down. It possesses plenty of tannin, but the wine's overwhelming fruit richness dominates its personality.

96
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (122), April 1999

Tasted at the château as part of a private vertical. The 1996 Pichon-Lalande has always been a marvellous wine and perhaps now it is beginning it even rival the 1982. It has a brilliant, Cabernet-driven bouquet with intense blackberry, cedar and graphite scents that remain resolutely linear - a nose that does not flinch. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins that encase layers of ripe black and red fruit interlaced with white pepper and cedar. This has a little more focus than the great 1995 and will probably last longer, demonstrating greater persistency towards the finish. Excellent. Tasted March 2014.

96
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, September 2014
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.