Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 2014

The 2014 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande has an expressive bouquet with lively blackberry, cedar, flint, and graphite aromas that are not powerful yet show admirable precision. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, the Merlot component giving this Pauillac its trademark fleshiness and roundness, while there is clearly structure here (not always a trait of this Pauillac growth). It will develop more complexity and personality with bottle age, but for now you can sit back and simply admire the cohesion and superb length. Winemaker Nicolas Glumineau has overseen a truly wonderful Pichon-Lalande, one with built-in longevity.

Strongly scented on the nose. Smooth and supple, this has bite and tang and grip, a juicy almost sweet centre with lovely aspects of creaminess which give this more texture, weight and body than some. It's still not heavy, but you can feel the layering of this wine, nuanced and coming in waves, really excellently presented, lots of character and lots to like. Also, still feels relatively young, and although you could drink this now, it will age too. Really shines out the glass. Makes you smile. Totally moreish!

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.

Tobacco leaf, cigar box, currants, and plums are what you find on the nose. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, earthy, and savory with a cedar and tobacco leaf lean to its character. Classic in nature, texture, and nuances, give this just a bit more time in the cellar and it could add more softness. This has clearly improved with time. Drink from 2023-2045.

Showing the hallmark elegance and seductiveness of this terrific estate, the 2014 Pichon Longueville Comtesse De Lalande is deeply colored (especially in the vintage) and delivers a heavenly bouquet of crème de cassis, ripe plums, graphite, cedar pencil, roasted coffee, and tons of building minerality and liquid rock-like nuances. Incredibly pure, textured, full-bodied, and with a seamless integration of its fruit, tannin, and acidity, it’s already approachable but will keep for two to three decades.

65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot. Extremely dark purple with lilac and violet highlights. The bouquet is mind-blowing. There are plenty of ripe, dark plums, cassis, black currant, licorice, black pepper, black olives, and pumpernickel bread. The nose shows incredible depth, absolutely regal and elevated. I followed it on the nose for about five minutes before taking my first sip. On the palate, full harmony—plush, creamy, velvety—with a focused, extremely long, and impressively powerful finish. So there are two pieces of good news: this is once again a sensational Pichon-Lalande (like the 2013!) and this time there’s quite a lot of it. Nicolas Glumineau even speaks of an almost normal harvest. Anyone who skips En Primeur this year will miss the chance at a true successor to the legendary 1982!

WINE OF THE CENTURY: THE PICHON-LALANDE SENSATION!!! The positive yield of the 2014 vintage is not meager. There are indeed a few brilliant wines that reach 19 points. And quite a few truly great crus with scores of 17/20 and 18/20. But for a great vintage to be touted as truly great, you need a few wines of the century to make noise in the points forest and get the en primeur fully up and running. From this perspective, the outcome this year is respectable, but not exactly red-hot. In addition, customers have behaved rather lethargically in recent vintages and, at best, have bought only selectively. The only wines from the 2013 vintage that disappeared from the 2013 en primeur market within days were Les Carmes Haut-Brion and Pichon-Lalande! I first encountered this fabulous Pichon-Lalande 2014 in the first en primeur week. To be allowed to taste it, you need an appointment at the Château. It is presented only there. I was immediately thrilled and spontaneously gave it 19/20 points. At that time, it was about my tenth important reference in the Médoc. And over the following days, it remained my personal winner from the Left Bank. And I simply couldn’t get it out of my head. Then came that important Thursday in the second week for me. In the morning, I taste more than 200 Cru Bourgeois. At Ulysse Cazabonne, I fill in the last gaps of estates I hadn’t yet encountered. Or I readjust the most important wines to fix the final rating. In the afternoon, we then visit all the Premiers in Pauillac. All within less than 100 minutes. Before we humbly begged for entry at Château Latour, we once again spontaneously marched into Pichon-Lalande… The week before it had been very quiet and Nicolas had plenty of time to chat with us; now, at several tables, a true tasting rodeo was underway. We found a few empty seats and had another barrel sample of the 2014 poured. I had already learned the nose aromas by heart. So I took the entire tasting ration into my mouth and let it swirl around the whole oral cavity for as long as possible. Now there was no question for me. This is the absolute best wine of the 2014 vintage. And—I’m sure of it now—this is a wine of the century! It was an almost sensual delight to be able to taste this highly refined yet full-bodied wine. Yes, to be able to! It was a privilege for me to taste such a great, legendary wine at such an extremely early stage. And I will keep following it. And also (hopefully) be able to keep following it in its further development. And then also when it’s in bottle. Because I will certainly buy a few different wines from the 2014 vintage. And for this fabulous, sensational Pichon-Lalande, I will pull every string to buy a few cases. I’m budgeting a purchase index of a maximum of 100 CHF/EURO. That would be another sensation… 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot. Extremely dark purple with lilac and violet highlights. The bouquet is mind-blowing. There are many ripe, dark plums, cassis, black currant, licorice, black pepper, black olives, and pumpernickel bread. The nose shows incredible depth, absolutely royal and elevated. I followed it on the nose for about five minutes before taking the first sip. On the palate, full harmony, ample, creamy, velvety, with a concentrated, extremely long, and powerfully pressing finish. So there are two pieces of good news. First, this is once again a sensational Pichon-Lalande (like its 2013!). And second; this time there’s quite a lot of it. Nicolas Glumineau speaks of an almost normal harvest. Anyone who skips en primeur this year will miss the chance at a true successor to the legendary 1982! 21: The youngest wine of the evening, and its color presented accordingly: violet-black. Peppery bouquet, almost exclusively black-berried, tightly structured and showing remarkable depth. The more air it gets, the more the nose shifts toward cassis. On the palate, firm, still astringent, but showing ripe tannins, incredible finish. Still far from its drinking window, but on track to deliver immense pleasure for the first time in about 10 years. Market value is under 130 francs. Ready. Set. Buy!!! (20/20).

The 2014 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is medium to deep garnet-brick in color. Notes of black cherry compote, preserved plums, and incense slowly drift from the glass, with underlying hints of cedar, violets, espresso, and forest floor. The medium-bodied palate delivers impressive tension and soft, approachable tannins, with plenty of fragrant black fruit and a touch of wood on the finish. Tasted blind with the Southwold Group in London in February 2024.

Good balance, more flesh than finesse, pruney notes on the nose, a bit disappointing on this bottle.

This cru marks one of its fine successes with a wine that is at once indulgent, silky, and deep. It has an admirable structure and, above all, remarkable length.

A floral nose, delicate at first, concealing an aromatic heart of golden, shimmering scents that draws you into its mystical world, with musky and smoky notes. On the palate, there are animal nuances, ripe fruit and a slight rusticity in the tannins—nonetheless velvety—that has faded in more recent vintages. A delectable Pauillac, ready to drink now.

Garnet red with violet highlights. A bouquet full of grace, complexity, and authenticity. On the palate, the wine is precise, creamy, and endowed with beautiful tannic power that acts like a quiet force. The structure works behind the scenes and ensures freshness. Beautiful aromatic expression from the very first sip through to the finish. Fruity, lingering finish. A great wine!

Dark, intense, and beautiful color. An intense, refined nose with pure, ripe fruit. Delicate on the attack, subtly structured mid-palate, very refined in texture; the wine caresses the palate as it melts away, long and delicate. It's very good.

Warm and ripe, this is a beautifully balanced wine. It is packed with black-currant fruits that are bursting out of the glass. A darker side comes with the tannins and new wood flavors that are still prominent. It looks likely the wine will develop slowly, so don't drink before 2025.