Chateau Pichon Longueville Lalande


Here`a rarity, a Bordeaux chateau moving seamlessly from one quality oriented owner to another. May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, whom Stephen Brook aptly describes as warm hearted but imperious, presided over the estate for many years after the death of her husband and had a reputation for acting like Chelsea and sacking managers she felt to be underperforming. Under pressure from other shareholders to sell, she finally passed the reins to Champagne Roederer in 2006. There is continuity. May-Eliane`s nephew, the splendidly named Comte Gildas d`Ollone remains in overall charge of the estate and the wines remain splendid too. The distinct quality of Pichon Lalande is partly vested in the high percentage of Merlot here. The wine has a slightly exotic and rich character with a touch of spice. The vineyards are located mostly on the St-Julien border - even crossing into that commune, but with a special dispensation to make them, as it were, honorary citizens of Pauillac. Wine making is straightforward, with a mixture of concrete and stainless tanks for the fermentation. Only half the wine goes into new oak, which means that there is great harmony of fruit and oak and the wines are accessible surprisingly young in most vintages, yet age beautifully over a long period. There is a third wine at this address as well as the fantastic second wine, Reserve de la Comtesse, which is available for the first time in 2009 as an en primeur and rivals many grands vins. A superb estate and under the new ownership an even stronger candidate for promotion in the fantasy 1855 debate. (CW 09/06/10)

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