With the background out of the way, I now turn to the actual tasting of the Pichon Comtesse wines. The vintages chosen for the tasting reflect the will of the participants. Once an attendee identified the vintage he/she would be bringing, that particular vintage was removed from the pool of allowables. The table below illustrates the vintages that made the final cut. The table also shows how the wines were arrayed, as it relates to flights (by decade, with the two pre-1980 wines pooled), and varietal contribution, both in terms of percentage and characteristics, to the blend.
Year | Cabernet Sauvignon (%) | Merlot (%) | Petit Verdot (%) | Cabernet Franc (%) |
2010 | 66 | 24 | 3 | 7 |
2003 | 65 | 31 | 4 | |
2002 | 51 | 34 | 6 | 9 |
1998 | 55 | 30 | 15 | |
1996 | 75 | 15 | 5 | 5 |
1995 | 45 | 40 | 15 | |
1989 | 45 | 35 | 8 | 12 |
1988 | 45 | 35 | 8 | 12 |
1986 | N/A | |||
1975 | 45 | 35 | 8 | 12 |
1969 | N/A | |||
Varietal Contribution | Full-bodied, deep-colored red wines with fine, silky, delicate tannins | Elegant, well-balanced, full-bodied sensual wines | Deeply colored wines with complex spicy and floral aromas underpinned by highly concentrated tannins | Less tannic. Contributes superb aromatic finesse with elegant, fresh, floral notes |
The wines were tasted from youngest to oldest overall and within flights. The tasting team is shown below.
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| Photo used with permission. Courtesy of Marc. |
Participants notes on the tasting, if secured, are reported below.
Flight 1: The 2000s
2010 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
This was a legendary vintage for Bordeaux.
Sean -- Pressed faded flowers in a book (roses and violets?). Lovely bouquet. Some slight smoke and spice; cloves maybe. Super long finish. A wow wine. Soft on the palate. Smooth and balanced. Good fruit. Black fruits, dark cherry, plum. Wine of the flight. Impressed enough with this one to go bid on a couple.
Brian --You can easily tell that this wine has been refined and polished with all the improvements at the winery. While it needs air, and can easily go for 10 years more or more, it’s not in a bad place at all. This is a hallmark wine of a superior vintage. Perfectly balanced fruit and tannins…. silky smooth.
Theresa -- Integrated, elegant, pencil lead, black fruit. Delightful, but could go a lot longer.
2003 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
The heat wave was the defining hallmark of the vintage. Far riper, fruitier wines.
Sean -- Floral nose, more violets and roses. Slight smoke. Sous bois. Mouth - good longer finish. Dark fruits again. That graphite and lead pencil typical of Pauillac. Good, but slightly off perhaps, or just missing something the 2010 has.
Brian -- Was shocked this was not as good as the bottle we had 3 months ago. Fruit is not pronounced. A very simple wine; closed off and not expressing the hot vintage of 2003.
Theresa -- Nose and palate so balanced, elegant, and smooth. Still tight but complex. Pencil lead. Could last a long time.
Author -- A little more structure than the 2002. And livelier. Dark fruit and unresolved tannins.
2002 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Bordeaux good, not great. Cool, damp year.
Sean -- Dark flowers on the nose along with truffle and cedar. Mouth - graphite, some minerality along with dark fruits. Light, but some tannins, less structured, shorter finish. Surprised for a 2002 which isn’t known for the best vintage, but quaffable. I had thought this one wouldn’t show that well and while it isn’t the best of the flight it isn’t terrible either.
Brian -- Tight and simple wine. Expressing the vintage troubles. The fruit was lackluster and very light. Medium tannin and acid.
Theresa -- A bit of fruit on nose. Mostly damp, wet cellar. Single-note palate. Lack of tannin and acid. Disappointing.
Author -- Beautiful flowery nose. Graphite on the nose along with coal. Dark fruits on the palate. Lean. Finish not the longest I have ever encountered.
Flight 2: The 1990s
1998 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Varied in quality. Right Bank starred for Bordeaux.
Sean -- Nose: dark cherry and some flowers, but light. Mouth: soft, but lacking depth. Some dark fruits again. Slight sour note. A bit tangy. Perhaps at the end of its life.
Brian -- Burgundy-like nose … forest floor. Shrooms. Massive tannins and acid and not long-lasting but enjoyable.
Theresa -- Dusty cherry fruit dominated along with mulch and forest floor .
1996 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Fantastic for most of Europe. Bordeaux had an incredible vintage for dry reds and whites.
Sean -- A favorite Bordeaux vintage. Never disappoints and again it is singing. Nose: something truffle. Sous bois. More dark dried flowers. Mouth: very elegant. Loooong finish, which I love. Good tannins and acid all balanced. Sooo silky and velvety on the mouth. Tannins resolved but there. Stewed cherries and plum. Pencil lead. Best of the flight. Best of the night also. I’ll have to keep an eye out for more of this online.Brian -- WOW. Elegant and refined. One of the best left bank wines I have had in years. Perfectly balanced fruit, tannin, and acid. Bing cherries and raspberry-like fruit. The epitome of class.
Theresa -- Acid, cherry, tannins, integrated, cigar.
Author -- Balanced. Cigarbox and savoriness. Goo acid level. Silky tannins.
1995 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Overall a great year.
Sean -- Tight. More tannic on the mouth. Not much on the nose. Some flowers. Dusty and mineral. Drinking well. If not for that 1996 I’d give this the wine of the flight. Mouth: plums, dark fruits, dark cherry.
Brian -- Good, not great, versus the 1996. Had a little more tannin and acid than the 1996. Fantastic fruit.
Theresa -- Acidity, some tobacco, earth, light cherry, raspberry, and a long finish.
The 1996 was adjudged to be the Wine of the Flight.
Flight 3: The 1980s
1989 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Fantastic vintage year for Europe. Bordeaux had no faults with reds. Abundant harvest of excellent quality.
Sean -- Nose: perfume. Floral with violets. A touch of clove or spices, tobacco, graphite. Mouth: dark plum, black currant. Smoother drinking and balanced. Very good.
Brian -- Another great wine in a stellar vintage with great balance. A little past its prime but very enjoyable.
Theresa -- Balanced. Earthy with some floral notes.
1988 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Overall a great year.
Brian -- Dead .. shame.
Theresa -- Old leather, like really old. Smoky cigar box.
Author - This wine was universally panned by attendees. And rightly so because it seemed to have some storage issues. The cork did a deep dive aftr only a slight touch with the wine keey and it went downhill after that.
1986 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Great vintage for St. Julien and Pauillac where many wineries produced deep, concentrated wines. Vintage has a reputation ofr tannic wines.
Brian -- All tertiary notes such as herbs and greenery. Light red fruits were slightly present. Very acidic.
Theresa -- Acid outlasted the fruit.
Flight 4: The 1960s and 1970s
1975 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
A hard, brutal, tannic year. Difficult vintage where, in most cases, the tannin outlived the fruit.
Sean -- Color looked good. Garnet and bright for its age. My nose may be shot after smelling all these wines, but something green there, green peppers perhaps? Nose opening up after few minutes and improved and moved more to the floral similar in other bottles. Mouth: dusty soft cherry. Plum. Very nice. Wine of the flight. Umami and savory as compared to earlier bottles. Different from the rest. Surprised how well this bottle drank considering the age and the vintage.
Brian -- The shock of the evening. Extremely refined and smooth tannins. Plums and raspberries and the fruit were very intact. My second-place wine. There is a reason why the folks in Bordeaux called this vintage the “vins de garde” or the wine to keep.
Theresa -- Vibrant acid, tannins, fruit. Great maturity. Nice savory finish. Iincredibly surprising and great.
1969 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
The end of the decade was not the best for Bordeaux. Heavy rains diluted the wines.
Sean -- Nose: cherry cough drops. Tangy and somewhat sweet-like. Not bad. Past, but yet still there. Still drinking, which is surprising, but on the downside.
Brian -- Almost a light beef stock undertone with the fruits. It had a massive amount of acid and was past prime. All tertiary.
Theresa -- savory, smoky tobacco, graphite. Not great. Showing its age. Rustic and very earthy.
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In summarizing the tasting Richard first apologized for his medical treatment potentially screwing up his tasting ability. That being said, the 1975 was by far his favorite: It still had a lot of the acid and tannins; the color was deep Garnet; and it had all the characteristics of a Left-Bank Bordeaux. With the exception of the 1988 (which was deeply flawed), the wines were exceptional. "We saw dark fruit with cherries and plums. There was earth, tobacco, and forest floor for aromatics. Alll in all an exceptional tasting."
By the way, the 1996 was deemed the Wine of the Night.
