Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1921-2016

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | OCTOBER 20, 2017

Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is arguably the single hottest château on Bordeaux’s Left Bank right now. Quality has been steadily on the rise for some time, culminating in a trio of spectacular wines in 2014, 2015 and 2016. This remarkable retrospective, many months in the making, provided a fascinating opportunity to explore the château’s rich history.

“Tell me your birth year,” Pichon Lalande’s Technical Director Nicolas Glumineau wrote when he confirmed our appointment “and don’t tell me it is 1961,” he added dryly, no doubt in reference to what must be a very small stock of remaining bottles from one of the most historic vintages in Bordeaux of the last century. Imagine my surprise when I walked into Pichon Lalande’s gleaming new tasting room and saw not only the 1961, but pretty much every vintage of note going back to the 1920s. And, in case you are wondering, no, 1961 is not my birth year.

I tasted all of the wines in this article with Glumineau and Charles Fournier, who serves as Pichon Lalande’s Head of Sales and Marketing. Glumineau organized the wines into two groupings. We started with younger wines from 2005 through 2016, tasted in ascending order, that provided a fascinating opportunity to track the evolution of Pichon Lalande, first under the Rouzaud family’s stewardship, and then in the years since Glumineau arrived from Montrose. The second flight started with the 1989 and moved back through series of older vintages culminating with the 1921. I can only describe tasting these vintages as one of the most totally hedonistic experiences of my life.

A view of Pichon Lalande and neighboring châteaux in Pauillac and Saint-Julien. © 2017, Alessandro Masnaghetti. Used by permission.

A Brief Overview

Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, often referred to informally as Pichon Lalande or Pichon Comtesse, is listed as a second growth in the Bordeaux classification of 1855. The estate lies on the border shared by Pauillac and Saint-Julien, which is represented by the red dotted line on the map above. Pichon Lalande’s ninety hectares of vineyards are cradled between those of Latour, Pichon Longueville (also known as Pichon Baron) and Haut-Batailley in Pauillac, and Léoville Poyferré and Léoville Las Cases in Saint-Julien. The nucleus of parcels is adjacent to Pichon Longueville, while the château, offices and tasting room are on the opposite side of the road, next to Latour. Readers will note that some of Pichon Lalande’s vineyards are actually in Saint-Julien. The château is granted an exemption for those parcels that allows them to be used for Pauillac wines.