Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande 2022

WEINWISSER: "78 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 17 % Merlot, 5 % Cabernet Franc, 13.65 Vol.-%, pH 3.8, 30 hl/ha. Unglaublich vielschichtiges Bouquet, frisch gepflückte Alpenheidelbeere, heller Tabak, Lakritze, satter Veilchenstrauß und Holundergelee. Das ist schon jetzt so elegant und verführerisch. Am kaskadenartigen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, reifer Extraktfülle und tänzerischer Rasse – alles in Balance, ein wahrer Modellathlet mit präzisen und eleganten Definitionen. Im konzentrierten Finale blaubeerige Konturen, tiefschürfende Terroirwürze und erhabene Adstringenz – ganz nah an der Perfektion und hinter Mouton Rothschild dieses Jahr der zweitbeste Pauillac. 2029 – 2055."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, fast tintig, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Cassis und Gewürznelken, dunkle Waldbeeren, reife Kirschen, feines Nugat, sehr einladendes Bukett. Stoffig, süß und elegant, schokoladige Textur, frisch und komplex, süßer Nachhall, enormer Druck, tolle Länge, Harmonie, salziges Finale, nicht enden wollend, der Nachfolger für den legendären 1982er ist geboren, der delikateste Pauillac seit Langem."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: „A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc, the 2022 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is deep garnet-purple in color. After a little coaxing, aromas of blackcurrant jelly, juicy plums, and wild blueberries waltz out of the glass, followed by nuances of red roses, damp soil, tar, and licorice. The medium-bodied palate is tightly wound, with impressive tension created by mineral-laced, crunchy black fruit layers, framed by firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and savory. pH 3.8."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "With an inky, dark, garnet hue, the wine asks for a bit of coaxing before its leather, cedar, spice, flowers, truffle, mint, currants and dark cherries show in the perfume. The wine is pure silk on the palate. There are no edges or corners. Everything feels in place. It is completely seamless. The wine is pure, fresh, and expansive. The mid-palate picks up its currants and plums, while the finish holds them in place, and expands in all 4 directions, with perfect balance in its 60-second plus finish. This is the best vintage of Pichon Comtesse ever produced! If you have the extra money, this is the wine to buy as it will provide dividends for decades as it ages and evolves. The wine blends 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. 13.65% ABV, 3.80 pH. The harvest took place September 6 - September 27. Yields were 30 hectoliters per hectare. Only 50% of the harvest goes into the Grand Vin. Drink from 2027-2065."

JAMES SUCKLING: "I love the aromatics here with botanicals as well as currants, blackberries and oranges. Full-bodied with incredible tannins that build on the palate with finesse and focus. Featherlight but always there. Stealth in structure. Very vertical. Savory. Superb. 78% cabernet sauvignon, 17% merlot and 5% cabernet franc."

JEB DUNNUCK: "One of the gems from Pauillac is unquestionably the 2022 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande, which is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. A hypothetical blend of the 2019 and 2020, it's a full-bodied, concentrated, opulent Comtesse offering beautiful blue fruits, some chocolate, leafy herbs, and undeniable minerality, ripe, velvety tannins, and a great finish. Despite the higher Cabernet Sauvignon component, this stays silky, expansive, and incredibly sexy. It's going to be drinkable with just 4-5 years of bottle age but should have a lengthy drink window. Hats off to director Nicolas Glumineau for another legendary wine from this château."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2022 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is one wine where a comparison with this estate's magical 1982 doesn't appear to be far-fetched. Wafting from the glass with deep aromas of cassis, plums, violets, rose petals, tobacco leaf and pencil shavings, it's full-bodied, supple and fleshy, with a layered, seamless core of fruit that largely conceals its chassis of powdery structuring tannin. Concluding with a long, expansive and beautifully perfumed finish, it's a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc that has the potential to equal or even surpass the 2019 and 2016 vintages at this address. It checks in at a very classical 13.6% alcohol and a rather high pH of 3.80."

DECANTER: "One of my favourite wines from 2022, utterly seductive from the first sip, this is a stunning effort that shows the power of Pauillac in 2022 delivered with elegance and class. Heavily scented on the nose, full of dark fruits, savoury notes of salty chocolate and floral scents. Smooth and so appealing in the mouth, the texture stands out, deep and rich but soft and chalky, tannins have a subtle powderiness that spreads the mouth, cooling and refreshing giving the minerality while the cool black and blue fruits linger in layers expanding vertically. This is so refined and polished - it's serious no doubt, not super fun, but it doesn’t need to be, it’s rich and sumptuous with sweet blue fruits balanced by high acidity that keeps the focus and energy. Bright, bold, well worked, clean, crystalline and pure. Somehow delicate and punchy at the same time. A mind-blowing wine that you just have to marvel at with intensity, brightness and vibrancy, building as it goes. A long, clean finish leaves you wanting more, salivating for that next sip. 3.8pH. A potential 100-point wine. 3.8pH. 50% grand vin. Tasted twice."

VINUM: "Passt bestens in die Serie hervorragender Jahrgänge, auf die Pichon Comtesse zurückblicken kann: beginnt ungemein fruchtig, entwickelt Fülle und Saft über exzellentem, tragendem Tanninfundamant und grosse aromatische Länge; meisterliche Balance."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Gently fragrant, the Cabernet element to the fore. Juicy extract but firmness behind. Suave texture of tannin. A certain finesse but power as well. Freshness and length on the finish. A refined statement."