2019 Chateau Pichon Lalande, Pauillac, Case of 6 btls

JD99 "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." JD Apr 2022

VM99 "The sample of 2019 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande sent to me last year was an absolute show-stopper. The bouquet needs a few minutes to open up, delivering intense black fruit, crushed stone and incense with time in the glass. Yes, the nose does remind me of Latour! The medium-bodied palate is endowed with unerring symmetry and poise. This is a powerful, multi-dimensional Pichon-Lalande, extremely precise, very deep and long. The 60% new oak is seamlessly integrated and feels just right. It reminds me of the 1996 in some ways, but with more finesse on the finish. Stunning. 14.12% alcohol" NM for VM Feb 2022

RP98 "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." WK for TWA Apr 2022

William Kelley for RobertParker.com writes, "Since joining Pichon Lalande just after the 2012 harvest, Nicolas Glumineau has made a number of changes. In the vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon is increasingly displacing Merlot; the soils are worked less frequently and cover crops are employed; canopy management has evolved, with both fruiting canes now trained in the same direction—Glumineau would like to trail pruning "Guyot simple" if Pauillac's cahier de charges (appellation rules) permitted it; and 27 hectares of the estate's 102 are being farmed organically. Even as Cabernet Sauvignon occupies a more and more important place in the blend, Pichon Lalande has never been more seamless and sensual, exhibiting a degree of structural refinement combined with remarkable complexity and depth of flavor. The 2019 has turned out brilliantly, and readers will have a hard time choosing whether 2019 or 2016 is the greatest vintage of the decade at this address: I've hedged my bets and bought both." Published: Apr 07, 2022