2022 Pichon Comtesse

I love the aromatics here with botanicals as well as currants, blackberries and oranges. Full-bodied with incredible tannins that build on the palate with finesse and focus. Featherlight but always there. Stealth in structure. Very vertical. Savory. Superb. 78% cabernet sauvignon, 17% merlot and 5% cabernet franc.

The 2022 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is one wine where a comparison with this estate's magical 1982 doesn't appear to be far-fetched. Wafting from the glass with deep aromas of cassis, plums, violets, rose petals, tobacco leaf and pencil shavings, it's full-bodied, supple and fleshy, with a layered, seamless core of fruit that largely conceals its chassis of powdery structuring tannin. Concluding with a long, expansive and beautifully perfumed finish, it's a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc that has the potential to equal or even surpass the 2019 and 2016 vintages at this address. It checks in at a very classical 13.6% alcohol and a rather high pH of 3.80.

With an inky, dark, garnet hue, the wine asks for a bit of coaxing before its leather, cedar, spice, flowers, truffle, mint, currants and dark cherries show in the perfume. The wine is pure silk on the palate. There are no edges or corners. Everything feels in place. It is completely seamless. The wine is pure, fresh, and expansive. The mid-palate picks up its currants and plums, while the finish holds them in place, and expands in all 4 directions, with perfect balance in its 60-second plus finish. This is the best vintage of Pichon Comtesse ever produced! If you have the extra money, this is the wine to buy as it will provide dividends for decades as it ages and evolves. The wine blends 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. 13.65% ABV, 3.80 pH. The harvest took place September 6 - September 27. Yields were 30 hectoliters per hectare. Only 50% of the harvest goes into the Grand Vin.