2013 Pichon Comtesse
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Tasting Notes
This is more closed than the Reserve. Not giving much away at all. A touch of regal austerity on the nose. A bit Latour-esque in its sense of breeding.. Very tight. And very, very serious in the mouth. Punchy. And this is very, very classy. Not the sunshine-fruit punch of a big vintage but more a Savile Row class. Breeding. Patrician: a very sober and immaculately well-cut suit. Cistercian. This is the bar. And goes on and on, and it’s the fruit that goes on. A saline edge in the finish. Really quite excellent. Joss Fowler, FINE+RARE, April 2014.
Critic Scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
A rarity in terms of the final blend for a Pichon Lalande, the 2013 is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, which is an historic first at this estate. Only 33% of the crop made it into the final blend. New manager Nicolas Glumineau worked at Montrose until hired away by the owners, the Roederer Champagne house. Yields were absurdly low at 13 hectoliters per hectare. This hasn’t translated into a blockbuster, massive wine by any means. The vintage wouldn’t permit that. However, the 2013 Pichon Lalande shows attractive red and black currant fruit, hints of bay leaf and underbrush, soft tannins, medium body and a supple, charming, seductive character. I’d be hard-pressed to guess that this is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon based on how it smells and tastes, but it is. Drink it over the next 10-12 years. Wine Advocate.August, 2014
The 2013 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, which as noted at the time of release is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, has a fragrant bouquet that, like the deuxieme vin, has a pungent marine influence: seaweed and touches of cockle shell, nicely defined with blackberry and briary emerging more strongly with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity with grainy tannin. There is a slight rawness towards the finish that would have been addressed by the addition of Merlot, but there is respectable substance. It falls away quickly towards the finish but otherwise it is balanced and quite a distinctive Pichon Lalande. Drink over the next decade. Oct 2016, www.robertparker.com
About the producer
Ch. Pichon Comtesse is one of the stars of Pauillac, and one of the original "Super Seconds" in Bordeaux. Classed as a Deuxième Cru Classé in the 1855 Bordeaux classification, it is widely recognised that Pichon Comtesse can not only match First Growths, but occasionally outperform them.