Customers in the shop are often heard to talk of great vintages of Pichon Lalande. Those vintages normally turn out to be ones from the period when the chateau was owned and run by the formidable May-Eliane de Lencquesaing and, more specifically, ones when the chateau enjoyed her undivided attention, and before she set about finding a buyer for the property which, to the surprise of many, turned out to be the Rouzaud family of Roederer Champagne, in 2007. With the arrival of Nicolas Glumineau in 2012, a new era appears to have dawned. Glumineau must take much of the credit for the succession of outstanding vintages at Montrose, and can only have been surprised when, upon the retirement of the incumbent Jean-Bernard Delmas, he wasn't offered the top job. Montrose's loss is Pichon's gain, and the chateau is quickly returning to the glorious heights attained in the '80s and '90s. The 2014 is an absolutely top-notch Pichon, perfumed, elegant, classy - everything it should be.
'The Château Pichon-Lalande 2014 is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot picked over five weeks between 16 September and 20 October. It has a very pure and precise bouquet with a light marine influencing the black cherries and blueberry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with a tense, graphite-tinged opening, a fine line of acidity (pH 3.72) and a silky smooth finish. The Cabernet Sauvignon is very expressive and dominates the Merlot at the moment, although the Merlot is essentially counterbalancing what might have been a much more austere Pichon-Lalande. Under Nicolas Glumineau, this Pauillac estate is really beginning to "motor" and this is an excellent wine, one within touching distance of the First Growths.' - Neal Martin, eRobertparker.com
From just across the ditch we have the penultimate St-Julien. Leoville-Las Cases is probably the next best thing to a first growth in all of the Medoc. The 2014 has huge scores from the critics. A very elegant, very pure Las Cases, with 30 years of life stretching ahead of it. /AR
Click here to view all 2014 Bordeaux; click on the individual wine name in the table below to see tasting notes
Offered subject to confirmation for shipment spring 2017
