Pichon Lalande 2019

The 2019 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande demands more coaxing from the glass, but it rewards patience with compelling graphite-infused black fruit, unapologetically classic in style, the terroir flooding through. The palate is medium-bodied with wonderful sapidity, gorgeous balance and a pure yet powerful finish that makes you wish you could build a time machine and taste it in 20 years. Sublime. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.

Score: 98

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2026-2060 01 February 2023

The 2019 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande was picked 16 September to 8 October. It has a showstopping nose: intense black fruit laced with graphite and mint. (Whisper it...it reminds me of their First Growth next door neighbor.) The palate is underpinned by very refined tannins that cradle what may well be the purest fruit you will find in this vintage. Unbelievably precise all the way through to the finish, I admit staring at my glass trying to find fault with it. Unless winemaker Nicolas Glumineau gets distracted by the new Cure album and makes a catastrophic error during the rest of its élevage, which he is not prone to doing, you are not looking at a modern-day 1982 or 2016, but something even better and more profound. Tasted from three bottles with consistent notes.

Score: 98 - 100

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2026-2065 16 June 2020

Pure class, the 2019 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande is another brilliant wine from director Nicolas Glumineau that checks in at the top of the vintage. A blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc that was harvested from mid-September through October 8th. Brought up in roughly 60% new French oak, it hit 14.1% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.7. More elegant and poised from bottle than barrel, it offers a brilliant perfume of crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, tobacco leaf, damp earth, and graphite. Deep, full-bodied, and pure perfection on the palate, it has this incredible marriage of Latour-like stature and regalness buffered by wonderful, sexy, seamless fruit, which no doubt comes from the higher Merlot content and makes Comtesse de Lalande so singular and unique. It builds slowly with time in the glass and has remarkable purity of fruit, ultra-fine tannins, perfect balance, and a finish that just begs you to pour another glass. It has a seductive, seamless profile that offers pleasure even today (although it needs lots of air to show at its best) yet needs 7-8 years of bottle age to hit the early stages of its prime drink window and will evolve for another 40-50 years if stored properly.

Score: 99

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Maturity: 2029-2080 11 April 2022

One of the wines of the vintage, the 2019 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande soars from the glass with complex aromas of wild berries, tobacco leaf, loamy soil, burning embers and hints of violets and rose petals. Full-bodied, deep and complete, it’s velvety and seamless, with a broad attack and a multidimensional core of lively, succulent fruit. Concluding with a long, expansive finish, it’s a remarkable young Pauillac that will offer many years of thrilling drinking. Congratulations to Nicolas Glumineau and his team, who are ushering in a new golden age at an address where standards were always very high.

Score: 98

William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2027-2065 07 April 2022

The 2019 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande evokes a feeling of real power and breadth, with tons of energy giving the wine drive that builds into the finish. Time in the glass brings out the aromatic intensity of the Cabernets. Dark fruit, menthol, rose petal, licorice and grilled herbs all flesh out over time. The 2019 Pichon Comtesse is a very serious wine that almost certainly has more to say than it is willing to express at this stage. Tasted two times. General Manager and Winemaker Nicolas Glumineau describes 2019 as a year of drought, until rains arrived at the end of July and middle of August, which were very important for the maturation of the Cabernets in mid-October. Yields were 42 hectoliters per hectare, which is typical for the château. Glumineau added that the Merlots showed a wider range of quality, while the Cabernets were more homogeneous. In tasting, I found the two wines more differentiated stylistically, which has not often been the case.

Score: 95 - 97

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com 01 June 2020

A ton of Pauillac character, wonderful slate-edged texture, tight tannins and slow-building power. Everything moves forward just an inch at a time, and it is easy to fall in love with this wine. Floral aromatics dominate on the nose, and it is ony when things relax in the glass that you get sweet blackberry and cassis puree fruits. It seduces, but slowly. No Petit Verdot in this vintage. 60% new oak, harvest September 16 to October 8.

Score: 98

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2029-2050 17 September 2021

A blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc (with no Petit Verdot this year), the 2019 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande came in at an alcohol of 14.15% and a pH of 3.7. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it sails out of the glass with a stunning array of Black Forest cake, warm cassis and wild blueberries scents with underlying hints of Morello cherries, redcurrant jelly, pencil shavings, menthol and aniseed with a touch of charcoal. The medium-bodied palate packs a lot of fruit into an elegant package, featuring very finely grained, silt-like tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long with loads of lingering mineral and exotic spice accents.

Score: 97 - 99

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 18 June 2020