Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 2019

2019 Pichon Comtesse 99p
Tasted in November 2021. 71% C. Sauvignon + 23% Merlot + 6% C. Franc, 14.12% alcohol. Sensual with breathtaking elegance and finesse, refined and sophisticated, long rows of creamy blackcurrants and cherries, spectacular complexity and length, multilayered, noble and graceful. An utterly magic effort from the property! 

71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc. 
More leafy than most of the Pauillacs in this small selection, very much what I expect from Comtesse. Dry, firm, elegant texture, really elegant in its dry finesse. Very cassis-focused, dry and refined. (JH)

The 2019 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande evokes a feeling of real power and breadth, with tons of energy giving the wine drive that builds into the finish. Time in the glass brings out the aromatic intensity of the Cabernets. Dark fruit, menthol, rose petal, licorice and grilled herbs all flesh out over time. The 2019 Pichon Comtesse is a very serious wine that almost certainly has more to say than it is willing to express at this stage. Tasted two times. 95-97p

General Manager and Winemaker Nicolas Glumineau describes 2019 as a year of drought, until rains arrived at the end of July and middle of August, which were very important for the maturation of the Cabernets in mid-October. Yields were 42 hectoliters per hectare, which is typical for the château. Glumineau added that the Merlots showed a wider range of quality, while the Cabernets were more homogeneous. In tasting, I found the two wines more differentiated stylistically, which has not often been the case.

The 2019 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande was picked 16 September to 8 October. It has a showstopping nose: intense black fruit laced with graphite and mint. (Whisper it...it reminds me of their First Growth next door neighbor.) The palate is underpinned by very refined tannins that cradle what may well be the purest fruit you will find in this vintage. Unbelievably precise all the way through to the finish, I admit staring at my glass trying to find fault with it. Unless winemaker Nicolas Glumineau gets distracted by the new Cure album and makes a catastrophic error during the rest of its élevage, which he is not prone to doing, you are not looking at a modern-day 1982 or 2016, but something even better and more profound. Tasted from three bottles with consistent notes. 97-99p