Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Fresh bottle, just opened. Pop & pour.

I have 09 & 10 of this second wine of Pichon Longueville. I just haven’t considering opening one yet.

As 2010 is a big vintage, I choice to pair this with the cheeseboard but writing notes before digging in. Something to soften the tannins of what I consider to be a brawny vintage that needs time. Cheese pairing is often chosen to pair with young, big reds as it coats the palate and softens the impact of big, brawny tannins.

This is quite nice, showing the quality of the vintage, yet being a second wine, you can open one now for what otherwise is a long age vintage for first wines.

The nose is somewhat expressive & inviting. Dark core of black currants, blackberries, black plum, plum, black raspberries, black cherries, some poached strawberries, hues of purple & blue fruits, anise, charcoal notes, anise, understated black licorice, French roast coffee beans, dark toast, steeped black tea, candied to withering dark flowers with candied violets.

The palate is clean with strangely not a ton of astringency. M+ dry, powdery tannins Ripe & juicy; black currants, blackberries, black plum, plum, black raspberries, black cherries, some poached strawberries, raspberry overtones and hues of purple & blue fruits. Anise, charcoal notes, sweet tarriness, anise, understated black licorice, French espresso roast, dark toast, steeped black tea, oak barrel shavings & powder, dry twigs/leaves, leather, dry tobacco, lead pencil, dry herbs, dark earth, dry top soil, nice dark spice, caramel, dark & milk chocolate, mocha powder, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanillin, dry stone, withering dark flowers, red roses with slightly candied violets, excellent acidity, it’s balanced but will be better balanced w/ age, structure & tension show the brawn of the vintage, it’s getting to an elegant and polished finish that lasts two-minutes and falls on dry earth, oak and spice.

Showed some tiny, velvety sediment at finish.

This drinks now but I would wait another 3-5 yrs to open and will age nicely for another 10-15 yrs.

Definitely worth picking up if you find Pichon Longueville outside your price point. 92-93. Rounding up today from 91.6.

Cheeseboard is bourique cheeses, served with crackers and accompaniments including grapes, churney, honey, dried fruits and nuts

@EK225 — 17 days ago

Alessandro Dalle Carbonare

9.2

Very nice stony minerality. Very lean and precise. It’ll improve with time.
Wonderful wine. — 7 months ago

Tom Garland

9.3

Spoto Family wine dinner under the stars: always a fun night with Stuart and family!

DINNER WINES
2021 Spoto Oakville cabernet rose
2019 Spoto Godfather red....a blend you can't refuse.
2019 Spoto cuvee Christiane
2018 Spoto Beckstoffer amber Knolls malbec
2018 Spoto family reserve cabernet
2015 Spoto late harvest viognier
Also:
2004 Las Cases
2005 Pichon Baron
2009 Cos d'estournel
2012 La Mission Haut Brion
2005 Spottswood
1989 clerc milon
2005 Spoto private reserve
2001 clos du val

FOOD
Oysters, lamb lollipops, feta skewers
Tomato and nectarine panzanella
Ricotta, summer pea and corn agnolotti
Wood fired gulf prawns
Five spice grass-fed short rib, Yukon potato
Apricot and vanilla custard tartelette — 2 years ago

with Brenda

GaryWEdwards

9.7

At 25 years, patience rewarded in this now delightful vintage. No hurry here as this juice is a long distance runner with at another 40 years to enjoy. — 5 days ago

Daniel Jara

9.5

Vinazo ! Mi nuevo preferido, silky and smooth, redondo, taninos presentes , complejo — 2 months ago

Renato Grandmont

9.2

Very well balanced — 3 months ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.3

Blend of Merlot (59%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (41%). Dark purple color. Fruit forward aromas of black fruit, sweet oak, violets and baking spices. Bright and ripe dark berry and plum flavors mesh nicely with touches of spices and minerals. Long and lingering finish. Smooth tannins. Excellent balance and freshness. Nicely layered and precise. — a year ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Medium deep garnet ruby , quite thin garnet terracotta rim . This is quite classic and more austere on the nose after the 1990s , grafite , cedar, sweet spice , earthiness and mint. More dry and four square on the palate compared to the 1990s but enough stuffing to fill out. Cassis , plum and blackberry , coffee , grafite . Refreshing acidity , slightly grippy drier tannin. Sous bois , grafite , herbal character with good length and earthy cassis finish . This got better with time in the glass and probably should have been decanted . This shows there is some upside , from now , with time in the glass, and over the next 10 years. The wine that improved the most during the dinner , quite impressive . — 9 days ago

Willem Booij

9.5

This bottle was so good! — 4 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1990 vintage. Excellent fill and halfway saturated cork. Used a Durand but surmise a regular waiter's friend, wielded carefully, could have done the trick with the cork. Decanted and tasted after 30 mins, one hour and two hours. Some obvious sed but not troublesome or overtly noticeable. Original owner-château direct on original release. Super cold cellar because this was lagging noticeably behind other '90's and LB's. Bigger tannic structure (for a generally feminine-styled house) than anything save a Latour, Mouton, Ducru Left Bank property. Even more guts than Lynch-Bages or Pichon-Baron '90's currently stored above 55 or so degrees. Surprising but made sense. Light-medium body. Appropriate color. 3-4 years left in this stage unless larger format in play. Slight, fleeting burst of richness in the frontal palate and a tad brickish and then it just flowed on, without speed bumps. A little cocoa powder and cedar/tobacco. Suspect 750ml specimens not stored as cold/religiously will be showing more in the 9.0-9.1 range and farther down the backside of the bell curve. 10.26.24. — a year ago