#steakandclaret
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2005
Pichon Lalande is my favorite 2nd growth with a steak. Yup...it's #SteakandClaret night to quote my buddy Gary Westby. Further, it's certainly one of my favorite producers period. I've waited for this wine to be in the bottle for 10 years before finding out definitely how good it was or wasn't. You see, the 05 Bordeaux vintage was exceptional. It's drinking right now better than 00. 00 may turn out to be better, but not for some time. The real issue was the division of scores between RP & NM. Parker had this as low as an 86 and now has it at 89. Neil Martin has been consistently at 95-96. I found it simply inexplicable that Pichon Lalande could have bombed in such a great vintage. Tonight, I know they didn't. This wine is beautiful. Although, I don't believe it will cellar as long as their some of their very best vintages and many others I've enjoyed. On the nose, bramble, ripe blackberries, dark cherries, notes of blueberries, poached strawberries, graphite, baking spices, cedar, lightly perfumed violets and dark, fresh & dry red flowers. The body is medium-medium plus, tannins nicely resolved with 10 years to be completely resolved. Fruits of; ripe blackberries, dark cherries, notes of blueberries, poached strawberries and pomegranate with a whiff of spice. There's notes of dry bramble, soft leather, fresh violets, graphite, cedar, dry stones, dark rich earth, limestone, tobacco, spice-box, vanilla, very light cinnamon & nutmeg. The finish is very long, elegant, ripe, round, smooth, good acidity and beautifully elegant...50-50 earth & fruit. I bought more bottles of this at $85 after it's was first released in futures and I do not regret it. $85 is proving to be a steal for this wine when it normally sells for between $100-$150 a bottle and higher. Might heavy up further after tonight if I find more around the same price. Oh yes...I'm with NM on the scoring. Photos of the Chateau, estate vines, newer tasting room & the Virginie de Pichon-Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande. Forgive my long post, but my passion and love for this producer is profound. Producer history and notes...as I wrote in an earlier post for Pichon Baron, Pichon Baron and Lalande started as one entity. The first mention of what is now called Chateau Pichon Lalande was the creation of Pierre de Mazure de Rauzan. Pierre de Mazure de Rauzan is responsible for forming many of the top Bordeaux estates today. Pichon Lalande was given its name when Therse, the daughter of the founder received the estate as a dowry when she married Jacques de Pichon Longueville. Pichon Lalande was essentially managed by three women, Therese de Rauzan, Germaine de Lajus and Marie Branda de Terrefort. On the eve of his death in 1850, Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville divided the property between his five children. His three daughters received Pichon Lalande and his sons Pichon Baron. What happened next was Virginie, the wife of the Count of Lalande took over the management of the estate under the name of Comtesse de Lalande. In 1850 she commissioned the popular, architect Duphot to build a residence inspired by the Hotel de Lalande, located in Bordeaux. Without heirs, Pichon Lalande passed down from aunts to nieces. Following World War I, the Miailhe brothers, bought Pichon Lalande in 1925. They were the ones who planted even more Merlot. May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, the daughter of Edouard Miailhe became the new owner and general manager of Chateau Pichon Lalande in 1978. She expand the size of Chateau Pichon Lalande from 40 hectares to it's current 89 hectares. Chateau Pichon Lalande remained in the same family for more than 250 years! In fact, over three centuries, only two families have owned Pichon Lalande. May-Eliane de Lencquesaing sold Pichon Lalande to the owners of Roederer Champagnein in January 2007. This family-run company is managed by Frederic Rouzaud who owned several other wine estates in Bordeaux; Chateau Bernadotte, Chateau de Pez, Haut Beausejour and Chateau Reaut la Graviere. He sold Chateau Bernadotte in December 2012. In February, 2011, Sylvie Cazes was named the director of Chateau Pichon Lalande. She replaced Gildas d’Ollone. Sylvie Cazes was replaced in 2012 by current Director Nicolas Glumineau, who was previously at Chateau Montrose. In 2012, Pichon Lalande renovated the estate with a budget estimated at over 15 Million Euros. The new facilities included; building of a new underground barrel aging cellar and several new buildings...one that houses their new tasting room as shown. This renovation provided numerous improvements in their wine making. Most importantly, in the vinification. They created a new, triple tiered, cellar where everything moves by gravity. They also added numerous new, stainless steel, temperature controlled, double skinned vats. These new vats allow Pichon Lalande to vinify on a parcel by parcel basis as well as get much softer & gentle extractions. The 89 hectare vineyard of Chateau Pichon Lalande is located adjacent to Chateau Latour and and across the road from Pichon Baron. The terroir of Chateau Pichon Lalande is deep gravel with clay and limestone soil and is planted to; 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. — 7 years ago
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2001
A redo after that disappointing 2002 Pichon Lalande two weeks ago on #steakandclaret night. While this is not again what I expect from this producer, it is better than the 02. Nose of cedar, fresh tobacco, stones and dry soil, quiet baking baking spices, ripe & lean; blackberries, dark cherries, cherries, strawberries, pomegranate, hues of blueberries, light mushroom, soft leather, black licorice cola and fresh red florals. The body is leaner to medium and well resolved. The fruits are fresh & bright. Dark cherries, cherries, lean blackberries, strawberries, cherries, pomegranate & cranberry juice, hues of blue fruits, saddle-wood, sweet suede leather, fresh tobacco leaf, cedar, dry stones, top soil & rich turned dark earth, limestone minerals, dry stems, slight touch of dry herbs, round, mouthwatering acidity and lean, long, well balanced fruit & earth, good structured finish with length. Finish lasts a full minute. Still 8-10 years of good drinking ahead. 9.3 with the ribeye. — 7 years ago
Château Montrose
Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2000
#steakandclaret night for belated Father's Day. This wine was made perfectly, with massive richness and texture married perfectly to great lift. Currant like, mineral Cabernet at its best- but St. Estephe? I struggled to find it. Regardless, a great bottle that went ideally with grilled ribeye. — 7 years ago
Château Lilian Ladouys
Saint Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 1989
This showed very well out of magnum paired with steak frites. It was a good #steakandclaret night with Alex and Jules on the west side! The tannin has completely resolved after 28 years, but the dark fruit is still fresh and the acidity is still lively. It had more interest and complexity than I would expect from a cru bourgeois, but not at the cost of good timing drinkability. I wish I had another ! — 7 years ago
Château Lilian Ladouys
Cru Bourgeois Supérieur St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 1989
Sometimes a man has to take #steakandclaretnight into his own hands. This fine Bordeaux is worth the 28 year wait, and cuts the rich dry aged ribeye like a razor. The color of the wine is still so strong, the texture so rich, yet the wine finishes bright. The magic of Bordeaux is in this bottle- dark fruit, bright finish! — 7 years ago
When tannins and savory herbal notes counter lush, ripe fruit. This bitter component can then be a bridge between the wine and the dish. Grilled radicchio, dandelion greens, cocoa, sauces or reductions with tea and coffee, Brussels sprouts, the skins of nuts (the brown part of the almond), and burnt bits will lead your tongue to focus on the fruit in the wine, and the caramelized sugars in the vegetable. Sometimes just the right touch of black pepper, rosemary, or star anise will make a vegetable resonate with wines from Bordeaux. Try roasting cauliflower with a rub of sumac or za’atar to add depth of flavor. Or a hint of cumin or turmeric with roasted root veggies. Umami flavors in soy and tamari are another option. Try playing with different spices. Fats also binds with tannins, which is why meat has been such a classic pairing with big red wines. But you can do the same thing with cheese, nuts, and oils (smoked oils or nut oils, even more so!). Drizzle olive oil on anything, but avoid extra-virgin olive oil as it can show green notes and pull your palate rather than compliment it when used in the dish. Candied almonds, walnuts, or pumpkin seeds tossed into your dish makes a natural connection with both Left or Right Bank wines. Other items to use as bridge components are; avocado, flax seeds, walnuts and pecans. Hope this helps and you find this useful.
Ken Z
Drank 5/26/28
#steakandclaret night. Paired nicely with a pan seared ribeye.
This is another Chateau owned by the makers of Chateau Dalem.
Nose of plums and black cherry start to reveal some earth and graphite notes with time in the decanter. Palate with more red fruits. After a couple of hours more mocha flavors emerge. Medium, well integrated tannins and a relatively long finish in the 40 second range. Like many of the '15's I've had, you can drink now for primary fruit, or age a few years. Nice, but I do prefer the Chateau Dalem for a few more dollars.
3/21/8/4/4 +50 = 90 pts — 6 years ago