2003 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Pauillac, France 750ml

2003 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Pauillac, France 750ml

$165.00
$175.00
Vintage
Country: 
Region: 
Sub-Region: 
Grape/Blend
Pairing
Beef and Venison
Standard Bottle (750 mL) 0 units available

 

Tasting notes
The brilliant, opulent, fleshy 2003 Pichon Lalande (65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot) possesses a high pH of 3.8 as well as 13% alcohol. Reminiscent of the 1982 Pichon Lalande (which never shut down and continues to go from strength to strength), the dense plum/purple-colored 2003 offers gorgeous aromas of blackberries, plum liqueur, sweet cherries, smoke, and melted licorice. Fleshy, full-bodied, and intense, displaying a seamless integration of wood, acidity, tannin, and alcohol, this beauty can be drunk now or cellared for 20 years or more.
Good deep red. Flamboyantly expressive aromas of raspberry, currant, earth, smoked meat, chocolate and pepper. Fat, full and voluptuous yet somehow light on its feet. This has a texture of liquid velvet. Wonderfully opulent wine with considerable inner-palate flavor complexity: raspberry, game, leather, mocha and chocolate. Finishes with very fine-grained tannins that coat the entire palate. A wonderful success for the year, and a wine that can be enjoyed already, even if its sheer material promises 15 to 20 years of life in bottle.
Tasted blind at Farr Vintner?s Left Bank tasting. An attractive, classic nose with cedar, sous-bois and pine interlacing the ripe black fruit. Very fragrant. The palate is very supple on the entry, rounded texture with fine tannins, blackberry, sandalwood, cigar box and sous-bois. Quintessential Pauillac, although it is very conservative on the finish. Tasted October 2010.

Producer

Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse

The Bordeaux of Pauillac is known for stark power, but one of the region’s most notable estates, Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (commonly referred to as Pichon Lalande or Pichon Comtesse) diverges from this trend to produce wines that the French typically describe as “feminine” and “sensuous.” This softer note is partially due to an unusually high proportion of Merlot (35%), but it’s interesting to speculate that the difference stems from the winery’s history, which, since the 18th century, has been notable for strong women, starting with Therese de Rauzan, Germaine de Lajus ...