Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - Pauillac (Grand Cru Classé) 2010 (750ml)

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Price: $345.99

Producer	Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Country	France
Region	Bordeaux
Subregion	Pauillac
Varietal	Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc
Vintage	2010
Sku	111537
Size	750ml
ABV	13.00%

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Description

Pierre de Mazure de Rauzan, a wealthy bourgeois trader from Bordeaux, bought some vineyards near the Latour fiefdom and established a wine-growing estate, L’Enclos Rauzan.

A little later his daughter, Thérèse, received it as a dowry for her marriage to Jacques François de Pichon Longueville, President of the Bordeaux Parliament. And so began the history of one of the greatest Bordeaux vineyards, which stayed in the same family for over 250 years.

As early as the eighteenth century, this great wine was already benefiting from a significant feminine touch. The Pichon Longueville baronesses – Thérèse de Rauzan, Germaine de Lajus and Marie Branda de Terrefort – were a strong guiding influence, managing the vineyard until the eve of the French Revolution.

The young Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville inherited the vineyard from his mother, Marie de Terrefort, when he was just 19. He died at the age of 90, having lived through three revolutions, the reign of five kings, two republics and an empire. In spite of the difficult times he doggedly sought to improve the quality of the wine. His efforts were rewarded in 1855, in the rankings carried out under Napoleon III, when the château was classed as a Second Cru.
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In 2007, Madame de Lencquesaing decided to pass on her vineyard, in order to secure its future. She chose Louis Roederer to take over from her. This family business headed up by Frédéric Rouzaud already owned two other Bordeaux crus, Château de Pez and Chateau Haut Beauséjour, in addition to other high quality wines in Provence, Portugal and the United States.
For three whole centuries, just two families did their work to make the château and its wines famous. Today, a third family now oversees the destiny of this cru, with the aim of building on the work accomplished so far – and raising the level of quality and prestige still further.

At the tasting, this wine reveals all its prestige and its class through a complexity and an aromatic richness that few wines are able to produce. Its length and its melted tannins are worthy of the greatest Pauillac.

Juicy and forward in feel, with a core of red currant and cherry paste, backed by notes of savory, plum skin and roasted vanilla bean that steadily emerge through the finish. Gains weight with aeration, displaying a more rounded feel than most of this vintage's Pauillacs.

Blend: 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot

Critical Acclaim

D100

Decanter

Silky, sweet black fruit, black olive and truffle notes from the start. This is majestically impressive - it sparks to life in your mouth and breaks out an involuntary smile. The texture is just liquid silk and it slowly but surely builds through the palate, gaining in confidence and totally delightful. Bright, vibrant tannins make the most of the high levels of acidity that were available in 2010, while matching them pace for pace with concentrated fruit. For me this is getting better as it ages, starting to rival the 1982 at Comtesse, and I can't wait to keep tasting it over the decades to come. Last time I rated this wine, in 2016, I gave it 98 points, and I questioned whether to keep it there, which is already an exceptional score, but I want to mark just how clearly it stood out in this horizontal. 60% new oak.

WE96

Wine Enthusiast

With signs of new wood on the palate, this is a wine that maintains the polished feel of the wines from Pichon Lalande. It has a stronger presence of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend than in the past, making it more structured than its predecessors, with a dominance of black currant flavor. It shows the soft side of the vintage, but is also meant for aging. Cellar Selection.

JS94

James Suckling

This is a pretty and refined Pichon Lalande. Aromas of blueberries and blackberries with hints of earth and mushrooms. Full body, with velvety tannins and a juicy finish. I slightly prefer the 2009. Better in 2017.

WS93

Wine Spectator

This features an intense core of plush-textured blackberry, boysenberry and black currant fruit, steeped with mulled spice, singed apple wood and anise notes. A strong, loamy feel courses through the finish, with latent grip. Very solid, but not where this wine should be in this vintage. Best from 2015 through 2030.

RP93

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Deep garnet colored, the 2010 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande gives up notes of warm cassis, blueberry pie and kirsch with wafts of cedar chest, pencil lead, charcoal and charcuterie plus a hint of wild thyme. Medium to full-bodied, the savory-inspired palate possesses a fair bit of chew with a lively backbone and firm finish.

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