The 2014 Pichon Lalande has the edge over Pichon Baron a few months ago. It is a tight race but here Pichon Lalande edges it. It has a wonderful, complex, intense bouquet with blackberry, briary, graphite and mint – just a straight-down-the-line Pauillac with all the aristocratic flair you look for. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, layers of pure black fruit laced with graphite and mint. It is blessed with a satin-like texture, not a hair out of place from start to finish, with a long, persistent aftertaste that completes a fabulous wine for the vintage. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 95 points

One of the highlights in a dark horse vintage for Bordeaux, the 2014 Pichon Lalande is absolutely exquisite. Aromatic and silky on the palate, with bright, finely sculpted fruit and mid-weight structure, the 2014 is a picture-perfect example of the best 2014 has to offer. I have always adored the 2014 Pichon Lalande. This tasting only serves to reinforce that feeling. Ideal conditions in September extended the harvest and yielded perfumed, silky wines. 97 points ve 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. 93-95 points

Last year`s varietal Cabernet Sauvignon wasn`t to everyone`s taste (although I loved it), but this is a more classic Pichon Comtesse. It`s typically fresh and alluring with compact, ageworthy tannins, oodles of perfume, fine black cherry, graphite and blackcurrant fruit and a chalky, minerally lift. Very impressive. 95 points