A vertical tasting of selected vintages (1961 - 2005) of Château Lynch-Bages wines

Our survey of Pauilliac wines has seen the Orlando Tasting Group explore the wines of Château Pichon Baron and Château Comtesse de Lalande. This post details our tasting of the wines of Chateau Lynch-Bages. The tasting took place at Vineyard Wine Company on March 8th and the participating attendees are pictured below.

The wines included in the tasting were divided into flights as follows:

Flight 1 -- White Bourdeaux

2005 Blanc de Lynch-Bages

Flight 2 -- Red Bordeaux: 2000s

2005 Château Lynch-Bages

2003 Château Lynch-Bages

2000 Château Lynch-Bages

Flight 3 -- Red Bordeaux: 1990s               

1996 Château Lynch-Bages

1995 Château Lynch-Bages

1990 Château Lynch-Bages

Flight 4 -- Red Bordeaux: 1980s                

1989 Château Lynch-Bages

1986 Château Lynch-Bages

1983 Château Lynch-Bages

1982 Château Lynch-Bages

Flight 5 -- Red Bordeaux: 1970s and 1960s    

1978 Château Lynch-Bages

1961 Château Lynch-Bages

Sean Hall's tasting notes are used exclusively in this post to report on the tasting. The tasting proceeded as follows:

Flight 1: White Bordeaux
2005 Blanc de Lynch-Bages
Our study of the Lynch-Bages vineyard shows the estate launching a white wine in 1990 with grapes sourced from 6 ha planted to Sauvignon Blanc (53%), Semillon (32%), and Muscadelle (15%). The wine is fermented in barrels and then aged for 12 months in 90% new French oak barrels.

According to Sean, Granny Smith apples along with something candied on the nose. Vanilla. Lemons and stewed apples on the palate.

Flight 2: The 2000s
2005 Château Lynch-Bages
A warm summer with near-drought conditions. Harvest remained largely free of rainfall.

The wine blend was 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Aged 15 months in 80% new French oak.

Pencil shavings, cigar box, blackberry, and cherry on the nose. Tight and tannic on the palate but showing potential. Needs time. A little acidic. Blackberry, dark cherry, and cassis. This will be great , peaking sometime in the next 5 to 15 years.

2000 Château Lynch-Bages
The weather leading up to the harvest had been perfect and from mid-July to mid-September there was virtually no rain. The fine weather continued through to the end of the Cabernet Sauvignon harvest in mid-October with only one day of rain to refresh the vines and momentarily worry the vignerons.

The wine blend was 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot
aged 15 months in 70% new French oak.

Violets, pencil lead, cigar box, and a smokiness on the nose. Young on the palate but with silky tannins. An appealing dark cherry flavor. Needs more time. Wine of the Flight.

Flight 3: The 1990s

1996 Château Lynch-Bages

The 1996 vintage for Bordeaux was extremely good. A mild winter and moved to a warm spring with March bringing significant heat. May was cool heating up again in June before taking another dip in early July. Late July, early August saw temperatures pick up again before cooler temperatures set in towards the end of the month. A heavy rainstorm also struck, drenching most of the Right Bank and Margaux but leaving much of the Left Bank unscathed ... A warm, dry September helped ripen the grapes, particularly benefitting Medoc. (Wine Searcher)

79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. French oak barrels for 15 months (70% new wood)

Slight green bell pepper and smoke on the nose. Dark cherries, blackberries, coffee, and chocolate on the palate along with silky tannins. Very good.

1995 Château Lynch-Bages

The year 1995 was a great success for the Bordeaux vineyard. The climate was contrasted, marked by rains from January to March and then by very good weather from April to September. The vines grew steadily throughout the season. The hot and dry summer tipped the balance in favor of a great vintage (catch.com).

76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. French oak barrels for 15 months (70% new wood).

Slight nail polish on the nose. Smooth on the palate. Blackberries and dark cherry. Tannins resolved.

1990 Château Lynch-Bages

1990 Bordeaux wine remains one of the top vintages of the 20th century. All great Bordeaux vintages spring from hot years and the 1990 Bordeaux vintage was no exception. In fact, it was the second hottest year of the century. Only 1947 was warmer. 1990 also offered vintners more sunlight as well. The year was only surpassed by 1949 for the amount of sun the grapes received. Interestingly, 1990 set another second place record. It was the second wettest year on record for a hot vintage. Only 1989 surpassed it for rainfall (Wine Cellar Insider).

73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. 15 months in 60% new French oak barriques.

Black cherry, cedar, cigar box, cassis, violets, and roses on the nose. Silky smooth on the palate enhancing flavors of rich cherries, cassis, and chocolate. Delicious. Wine of the flight.

Flight 4: The 1980s

1989 Château Lynch-Bages
Fantastic vintage year for Europe. Bordeaux had no faults with reds. Abundant harvest of excellent quality.

Aged for 15 months in 66% new oak.

Stewed dark cherry, cassis, and cigar box on the nose. Sour cherries and dark berries on the palate. Good. Similar to the 1990.

1986 Château Lynch-Bages
1986 Bordeaux wine was shaped by a difficult vintage created from heat and drought from start to finish of the growing season. The bud break occurred late, but flowering was normal. The summer was hot, sunny and very dry. By September, the vines were experiencing stress from drought conditions... The rain that fell in mid September changed that... The 1986 Bordeaux harvest got started September 23. For the next 23 days, Bordeaux enjoyed three weeks of hot, sun drenched and windy conditions that was perfect for the vines and the pickers. The few growers in the Left Bank with the willingness to wait to harvest, allowing the Cabernet Sauvignon to achieve more ripeness, made the best wines (Wine Cellar Insider)

Smoky. Cedar box along with pencil shavings on the nose. As was the case for the '89, Dark sour cherries on the palate. More tannic though. The fruit is fading some. Least favorite wine of the flight.

1983 Château Lynch-Bages
Overall, the 1983 Bordeaux vintage produced some rich, generous wines with the best showcasing a full, opulent character but many lacked the structure for long-term aging. In general, the vast majority of wines are likely to be long past their best but some of the very top examples from both the Right and Left Banks may still be drinking well now, although that window is closing and careful research is still advisable. (Wine Searcher).

Sean liked this wine. Cherries, cassis, herbs, and cedar on the nose. Smooth, with resolved tannins. Cherries and blackberries. Very nice.

1982 Château Lynch-Bages

The 1982 vintage for Bordeaux was and still is considered one of the great vintages.
The growing season was idyllic with both budburst and flowering occurring under perfect conditions. The balmy, dry weather continued throughout the summer with July seeing some particularly hot days while August brought cooler ones just before a glorious Indian summer took place in September elevating the vintage. The heat spike late in the day served to ripen Merlot perfectly and a touch of rain led to the perfect conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The resulting harvest was not only of sublime quality but was also hugely generous (Wine Searcher).

70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. 18 months in French barriques, 75% new.

Cherries on the nose. Fantastic on the palate. Rich and deep. The fruit is still there with dark cherry and chocolate notes. Smooth tannins. Absolutely delicious. Wine of the flight.

                                                                                             

Flight 5: 1970s and 60s

1978 Château Lynch-Bages
The 1978 Bordeaux growing season did not start off well with its wet, cool, spring. Things improved slowly, with the end of the growing season taking place under good, warm, sun filled conditions.
1978 Bordeaux wine earned the sobriquet of the miracle vintage from the famous wine writer and personality Harry Waugh. The vintage was awarded its title because throughout the entire growing season, winemakers all over Bordeaux were expecting the worse.  Yet, thanks to a perfect September, the vintage produced several fine examples of 1978 Bordeaux wine. (Wine Cellar Insider).

Dusty cherries, cherry cola, and cedar box on the nose. On the palate fruit there but falling off. More cherries and black berries.

1961 Château Lynch-Bages

A legendary Bordeaux vintage. Big, concentrated and tannic in their youth, numerous great wines were produced in the Medoc, the Right Bank and Pessac Leognan. If well stored, many of these wines are still offering great pleasure today (Wine Cellar Insider).

Smells of old, muted sour black cherries. Violets, herbs, and fennel accompanying. Very soft sour cherry on the palate. For the age is still amazingly "there." Surprised at how much fruit is still there, given the age. Blackberries, cherries, cassis, and an herbaceousness on the palate. Interesting and a thrill to try. I see why '61 is so prestigious. Have to call it the wine of the flight seeing how much I said about it.

*******************************************************************************************************

And it was not only Sean that had a lot to say about the 1961. A majority of the group voted this wine the best of the night overall. It was phenomenal. It was the oldest wine that we have tasted in this series to date and, in my estimation, it has been the best.

Overall, this was an awesome tasting. The wines were supreme. As  a matter of fact, each wine seemed to be better than the one that preceded it and that is borne out by the fact that the wine of every flight was the last one tasted. I have long been a fan of the wines of Château Lynch-Bages and this tasting did nothing to disabuse me of that sentiment.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Château Lynch-Bages: History, environment, grape-growing, and wines

According to famed wine purveyor Berry Bros & Rudd, Château Lynch-Bages "is one of the best-known Medoc estates and has always had a particularly strong following on this side of the English Channel." The chateau's primary wine "can be surprisingly soft and approachable when young. However, when fully mature, it develops a succulent richness and a heavenly bouquet of minty blackcurrants and cigar boxes."

Accolades such as this, combined with the positive experiences of some group members, contributed to us selecting this wine as the third and final Pauillac entrant tasted in this series.

History

The Lynch-Bages winery is tightly linked to the Cazes name but the chateau's history stretches back way beyond its initial encounter with that nomenclature. I have divided the history of the estate into pre-Cazes and Cazes eras with the former encompassing north of 300 years. 

Environment

The below chart situates Lynch-Bages within the Pauillac region and in context to fellow producers.

With the exceptions of the first growths to the north (Lafite and Mouton) and south (Latour), the second growths to the south (Baron and Comtesse), and the fourth growth Duhart-Milon, all other producers in the Commune are (like Lynch-Bages) fifth growths.

The right side of the chart provides information on selected aspects of the wine-growing environment.

Grape-Growing and Wines

The variety mix for the estate's flagship wine is 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. Vines planted by André in 1973/74 gave Lynch-Bages and advantage in the 1980s because they were flourishing at a time when the rest of Bordeaux was just beginning to replant. 

These vines continue to yield benefits to the estate today as they serve as the basis for the Chateau's strategy of using massal selection for vine propagation. As the estate sees it, the mix of older vines is the result of decades of adaptations to the specific terroir.

The Chateau's farming and vineyard management practices are detailed in the chart following.

The estate began production of a white wine in 1990 and embarked on a massive renovation and modernization project in 2017. At the conclusion of this program, Lynch-Bages had shifted to a gravity-flow architecture for winemaking and had amassed enough vessels to allow implementation of parcel-by-parcel vinification.

With this deeper understanding of Chateau Lynch-Bages and its environment, we are now positioned to undertake an informed tasting of its wines.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

An overview of Bordeaux's Medoc

Our Orlando Tasting Group has recently held vertical tasting events focused on the Pauillac wines of Pichon Baron and Comtesse de Lalande and are about to embark on the tasting of a third -- Château Lynch-Bages. Before we do, however, I would like to take a step back and explore the larger context within which these chateaux operate.

Pauillac - the home appellation of these three estates -- exists within a larger geographical construct called the Medoc (illustrated below) which owes its winemaking prowess to (i) a temperate climate (characterized by humid springs, hot summers, sunny autumns, and relatively mild winters) and (ii) its gravelly soils. 

The region's growing conditions are favorably impacted by the climate modifiers detailed in the chart below.

The Medoc is divided into two sub-appellations: Medoc, to the north, and Haut-Medoc, with the former covering 4700 ha and the latter 4300. The Medoc sub-appellation, called Bas Medoc in earlier times, has heavy, moisture-retaining soils which are much more suited to Merlot  than the Cabernet Sauvignon which dominates in its neighbor to the south. 

Within the Haut-Medoc appellation there are four communal appellations renowned for producing some of the finest wines in the world. We will focus on this appellation and its communes in the remainder of this post.

The chart below provides an overview of the Haut-Medoc landscape and illustrates how its constituent parts function as an integrated draining mechanism.

Many areas in the Haut-Medoc have large deposits of gravel which were washed down from the Pyrenees thousands of years ago. This gravel provides excellent drainage and ideal conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon which does not like "wet feet." These gravelly soils retain warmth and, in so doing, aid in the ripening of the grapes. The characteristics of the soils at the commune level are detailed in the chart below.

With the treatment of this broader context complete, we can now resume our tasting of the commune wines.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

A tasting of Montalcino's Castello Romitorio wines at Wine Watch

On October 5, 2024, I attended a Castillo Romitorio wine tasting held at Fort Lauderdale retailer Wine Watch. The guest for the event was Filippo Chia (son of Sandro Chia, the founder of the modern version of the estate) current owner/winemaker of/at the estate.

The area occupied by the current Castillo Romitorio has a long and storied history, stretching back, as it does, to Roman and, potentially, Etruscan times. The relevant history, however, begins with the purchase of the castle as a ruin by world-famous artist Sandro Chia. Prior to the purchase, the property had remained uninhabited since its abandonment during WWII. Along with the castle, Chia took ownership of the vineyards, oak woods, and heath land.

Sandro converted the old manor house into his home and art studio. He also restored the vineyards, planting them to the Sangiovese that was typical to Montalcino. Forty wineries were established in the appellation at that time.

The landscape inhabited by Castillo Romitorio is relatively wild and characterized by slopes that receive less sun than other Montalcino areas and colder average temperatures.  The Romitorio vineyards are small plots of land sprinkled among hectares of virgin woods that are themselves populated with ponds and streams. The soils underlying the vineyards are a fossil-rich mix of galestro, clay, and albarese.

Tuscan White Bean Soup

Filippo joined the company in 2005 and immediately began building a new cellar, planting new Sangiovese vines, and revitalizing the winemaking. As a result of his initiatives, vineyards can now be found at elevations ranging between 200 and 400 meters while wine-aging is now “a delicate combination of large barrels and French oak for long, patient aging” followed by specification-exceeding bottle-aging times.

We began the tasting with the 2020 Castillo Romitorio “Colto” Rosso di Montalcino. This was the initial vintage of this wine, its grapes sourced from “young and powerful vineyards planted deep in the pristine woods.”  It is produced in extremely small quantities and aged in wood and cement and then in bottle prior to market release.

On the nose, dark fruit, spice, violets, talcum powder, balsamic, and salinity. Dark fruit on the palate and medium-bodied. A little green note and some dried herbs. Surprisingly good. Most Rosso’s are too thin for my liking: but this wine did not fit that mold.

Next up was the 2019 Castillo Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino. This is the estate’s flagship wine and is sourced from new and old vineyards in its Montacino terroir. Clusters are hand-harvested and grapes hand-sorted before and after de-stemming. The grapes are fermented in stainless steel tanks with an initial short cold maceration followed by maceration at higher, controlled temperatures. Malolactic fermentation is natural after which the wine matures in oak for a minimum of 24 months and bottled for a minimum of 4 months.

Elegant on the nose with violets, sweet red fruit, crème brulee, and green herbs. Broad on the palate with bright red fruit, cherries, minerality, and a coal character. Long, dark finish.

We tried a 2010 edition of this wine later in the evening and it was oxidized.

We next tried two vintages (2019, 2017) of Filio di Seta Brunello di Montalcino. Cellar treatment prior to fermentation is the same as for the flagship Brunello di Montalcino. Fermentation, however, is conducted in cement tanks with natural MLF following and then resting the wine to separate it from the lees. This wine is aged a minimum of 24 months in oak and 4 months in bottle.

The 2019 showed blue fruits, violets, and salinity on the nose. Beautiful on the palate. The 2017 had darker fruit. It also showed a little Granny’s attic. High-toned. Violets and sweet dried fruit. Some salinity. Tannins not fully resolved.

Beef Tartare with Truffle Aioli served over
Bone Marrow Canoe 

We next tasted the 2016 Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. The Riserva is only made in years with truly outstanding harvests. To illustrate, this wine was introduced in 1984 and there have only been 10 Reserva vintages declared subsequently. The grapes used for this wine are rigorously selected from the estate’s oldest vineyards. Each block is monitored throughout the vegetative process. Clusters in the chosen blocks are carefully tended in order to ensure that the fruit attains a consistent and optimum ripeness.

The cellar operations for this wine is similar to the treatment of the proceeding wines. Fermentation occurs in stainless steel tanks. Wines are aged in oak for a minimum of 24 months and then in bottle until released.

Elegant. Dark fruit and green herbs. Medium-bodied with great acidity, chalky minerality, and a drying finish.

Veal Osso Bucco Ravioli with
Wild Mushroom Sangiovese natural Sauce

We also tried the 2007 and 2006 Riservas and they were similar except for an additional year of development for the latter. The 2007 Riserva showed a very attractive nose of violets, aged balsamic, and beeswax. Broad and unfocused on the palate. Seemed to be past its prime. These are relatively young wines and should not be demonstrating this characteristic. Maybe storage issues?

The full lineup

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Comparisons of shared vintages of recently tasted Pichon Baron and Pichon Comtesse wines

In our recently concluded Pichon Baron tasting, The Orlando Friends Tasting Group sought to have as many common vintages as possible with our previous Pichon Comtesse tasting in order to allow for meaningful cross-estate comparisons.

The table below shows the wines included in the Baron tasting with the associated varietal composition of the Baron wines, as well as the Comtesse wines for shared vintages. As shown in the table, there were Baron-Comtesse overlaps in eight of the tasted vintages (varietal composition for Comtesse wines are shown in parentheses). The varietal composition of the Baron 1975 vintage could not be determined.

Year	Cabernet Sauvignon (%)	Merlot (%)	Petit Verdot (%)	Cabernet Franc (%)
2008	71	29
2005	64	33		3
2003	65 (65)	35 (31)	(4)
2002	65 (51)	35 (34)	(6)	(9)
2000	70	25
1998	80 (55)	20 (30)		(15)
1996	80 (75)	20 (15)	(5)	(5)
1995	65 (45)	35 (40)		(15)
1990	63	37
1989	73 (45)	27 (35)	(8)	(12)
1988	70 (45)	30 (35)	(8)	(12)
1975	(45)	(35)	(8)	(12)

Sean's notes being the most comprehensive and complete over the two tastings, therefore his material was used as the basis for the comparisons.

The 2003 Vintage

A heat wave was the defining hallmark of the vintage. Early bud break and flowering. Undeniably a quality harvest. Very favorable weather conditions enabled attainment of optimal ripeness. Both estates used a similar Cabernet Sauvignon composition but while Pichon rounded out the blend with 35% Merlot, Comtesse rounded out its blend with 31% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot. As we have learned from the Comtesse tasting, Petit Verdot adds color, complex spicy and floral aromas, and highly concentrated tannins. The Pichon Baron was aged for 15 months in 70% new oak barrels, remainder first passage.

Sean saw the Baron as exhibiting leather, something green, and a slight herbal note on the nose. Slight smoke. On the palate, more acid, tannic,  and stronger. Black currant. Dark cherry, raspberry. In the case of the Comtesse, we see aspects of the Petit Verdot showing through. According to Sean: Floral nose, more violets and roses. Slight smoke. Sous bois. Dark fruits and a good, longer finish. Graphite and lead pencil typical of Pauillac. Good, but slightly off perhaps.

The 1998 Vintage

Flowering took place in normal conditions and a dull July was followed by a hot, dry August which thickened the skins, which were then able to resist the rains that fell in early September. White grapes were harvested in mid-September, followed by Merlot, which was often of high quality. Cabernet was more problematical, as not all of the bunches were fully ripe by the time rot appeared in October -- Decanter.

The Pichon Baron blend was 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot aged for 15 months in 70% new oak. The Comtesse blend had far less Cabernet Sauvignon (55%), less Merlot and a meaningful Cabernet Franc contribution.

For the Baron, Sean identified aromas of dusty cherry, cedar box, sous bois, and wet leaves. while the palate showed smoother tannins, good acid, dark fruit, and currants. The Comtesse on the other hand, exhibited less power with the lower Cabernet Sauvignon levels -- so much so, that he expressed concerns for its life. On the 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.

The 1996 Vintage

Star vintage for the Left Bank. Cabernets excelled, taking advantage of long hang time for ripening.

As was the case for the 1998, the Pichon Baron blend was 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot aged for 15 months in 70% new oak. The Comtesse blend was much higher in Cabernet Sauvignon than it was for the 1998, while the Merlot was half its '98 levels and both Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc were utilized in equal parts.

Sean saw the nose of the Pichon Baron as being different from the wines we had tasted to that time. Licorice and graphite. Mouth: nice cherries and currants. Smooth. Well integrated tannins and good acid. Delicious. Both of these wines were enjoyable but the Comtesse seemed to have a little more finesse. Nose: something truffle. Sous bois. More dark dried flowers. Mouth: very elegant. Loooong finish. 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. 

The 1995 Vintage

This was the first really dry, unfrosted vintage for five years. But in fact it was arguably too dry. The vines suffered such drought that leaves turned yellow before the harvest even in such favoured spots as Château Latour’s vineyards. June, July and August were very hot and dry so that the vines did not have enough water for photosynthesis to proceed smoothly. This was one of the earliest vintages when Bordeaux’s growers had to get used to a lack of phenolic ripeness no matter how high the sugar level.The drought meant particularly small berries with thick skins (no need to bleed off surplus juice from the fermentation vats in 1995) and this doubtless helps to explain the firm, chewy tannins that dogged them in the past and are still perceptible in some of the wines – although the fine June meant that the flowering was very successful and the crop was one of the biggest on record. Cooler, wetter weather arrived in September and some of the grapes were picked in the rain which was viewed as potentially disastrous but in fact probably helped the final ripening of Cabernets.— Jancis Robinson

For Pichon Baron, 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot. For Comtesse, the highest level of Merlot seen for any of the two producers in any of the vintages under consideration.

The tannins that Jancis Robinson mentioned in the vintage notes are apparent in both producers' wines of this year. For Pichon Baron, a nose of sweet dark cherries with a slight cough-syrupy taste. Smoke. Less-resolved tannins on the palate. Not as balanced as the 96, but still nice. Wouldn’t kick it out of bed. The Comtesse was tight. More tannic on the mouth. Not much on the nose. Some flowers. Dusty and mineral. Drinking well. Plums, dark fruits, and dark cherry on the palate.

The 1989 Vintage

Fantastic vintage year for Europe. Bordeaux had no faults with reds. Abundant harvest of excellent quality.

For Pichon Baron, 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot. Aged for 15 months in 65% new oak. Less Cabernet Sauvignon for the Comtesse than for the Baron but more Merlot in addition to meaningful amounts of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.

The florality and elegance of the Comtesse comes knocking again. Petit Verdot show up. The Baron shows smoke and stewed cherries on the nose and dark cherries and cassis on the palate. Sean found this wine to be velvety and smooth. The Comtesse was perfumed on the nose. Floral with violets. A touch of clove (or spices), tobacco, and  graphite. On the palate, dark plum, black currant. Smoother drinking and balanced. Very good.

The 1988 Vintage

Good but not great year that allowed consumers to drink this while waiting for 1989 and 1990 to mature. The wines are not developing as well as people had hoped. Some have developed a green, herbal or olive sensation. Merlot based wines were more successful —- winecellarinsider.com.

For Pichon Baron, 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot. Aged for 12 months in 60% new oak; remainder first passage. The Comtesse had the same composition as for the 1989.

Pichon nose: crème de cassis, black fruit, cedar, sous bois, wet leaves, and perhaps something off. Mouth: older with that dusty old cherry quality which Sean is beginning to associate with the Baron. The Comtesse "smelled of weird stuff." Both of these wines seemed off to Sean and are probably reflective of the vintage notes provided by winecellarinsider.com.

The 1975 Vintage

A hard, brutal, tannic year. Difficult vintage where, in most cases, the tannin outlived the fruit.

I could not locate the Pichon Baron composition for this vintage.  Sean noted its light ruby color and felt that it was good for the age! Slightly sour nose, a bit funky due to the age. Almost sweet smelling. Old dried cherries, reminds me of cherry fruit roll ups. Mouth, old, but fruit is still there. An almost candied-like fruit. Sour dark cherries on the mouth. Cherry cough syrup-like. Interesting. 

The color also looked good for the Comtesse. Garnet and bright for its age. Something green on the nose. 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. Umami and savory as compared to earlier bottles. Different from the rest. Surprised how well this bottle drank considering the age and the vintage. 

******************************************************************************************************

The notes show a decidedly softer, more elegant look for the Comtesse versus the Baron. I congratulate Sean on his tasting notes in that they tie the wines to the growing conditions and the varietal composition thus allowing clear delineation between the wines in shared vintages. This is especially true in the cases where aromas from the Comtesse are enhanced by the addition of Petit Verdot to the blend.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme