Pichon Comtesse de Lalande scales a new height 

Her name was Virginie de Pichon Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande.  She was one of the Médoc’s most illustrious characters of the 19th century.  Her namesake wine is Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (AOC: Pauillac), commonly referred to as "Pichon Lalande".  Its peers in Pauillac appellation include such luminous names as Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, Latour, and Pichon Baron

It is considered a Super Second, wines classified in 1855 as Second Growths but can stand up to the quality of First Growths nowadays.  On the ground, a visitor to Pichon Lalande cannot fail to notice its other half (Pichon Baron) across D-2, the dirt road that cuts through legendary wine estates in Médoc.  (Background: Complex French laws on inheritance make the split of family estate among siblings a compulsory affair).  Pichon Baron ended up with more land, Pichon Lalande ended up with a one-of-a-kind next door neighbor: the famed First Growth estate of Château Latour.

A second wine was created and named Réserve de la Comtesse, made of grapes from younger vines.  The label used to feature the portrait of Comtesse de Lalande.  Starting with the 2018 vintage, a new label is introduced along with a shortened name, Pichon Comtesse Réserve.  Some say it's just marketers making it easier for consumers to pronounce the name.  We wonder out aloud: 

"...will her glamorous portrait be missed?"

Freshly released during the en primeur campaign yesterday, Pichon Lalande 2018 ($180) is one of the most sought-after wines of the vintage.  Most merchants in Bordeaux sold out within hours.  You want to know why?  Here are the critics' words:

Tasting Notes

"Full-bodied, concentrated and completely laden with tightly wound black fruit and savory layers, the palate gives a rock-solid backbone of firm, super ripe, super fine-grained tannins and soft background freshness, finishing very long with a veritable display of mineral fireworks." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (4/23/2019, Bordeaux 2018 Issue), Ratings: 97-99

"... powerful, dense and explosive, with a real sense of vertical lift that conveys energy. Grilled herbs, lavender, inky blue/purplish fruit and spice notes develop in the glass, but it is the wine's balance, purity of tannin and finish that stand out most. In 2018, so many wines lean towards extreme versions of themselves, but Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande remains very much within its classic parameters." - Vinous (Antonio Galloni), Ratings: 95-98

"Ripe and stylish, it is elegance personified and will be a very fine wine to age. Its structure and tannins are generous yet gently handled, giving density while preserving the bright dark fruit flavors." - Wine Enthusiast (Roger Voss), Ratings: 96-98

"This has to be up there with one of the most seductive Comtesses on record with layers of alternating softness and concentration combined with a lot of 2016’s elegance and power." - Decanter (Jane Anson), Ratings: 99

Vintage 2016

"The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannin on the entry, moderate depth, a light marine influence upon the black fruit with a little creaminess on the finish." - Neal Martin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate), Ratings: 90-92

Vintage 2018

"Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with juicy black fruits and loads of earth/mineral nuances, finishing with lovely freshness and a quiet intensity. Very impressive." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate), Ratings: (92-94)+