Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend

This is glorious in every way. Beautiful dark, currants, cassis, ruby style fruits, coffee grounds, good wood use, rich soils, stones, perfect acidity and ripe fresh finish. Buy.

Green beans!!!!

Extraordinary balance. Dusty amber fruits.

There are few simple life pleasures that are as good as my Ribeye and a well cellared, very good vintage of Pichon Lalande.

One of my favorite New Years Eve traditions is to have an old Pichon Lalande and my Ribeye. This one was close to Heaven.

I come from a mother who raised seven kids on her own as my father passed away five months before I was born. An amazing feat on her part. I say this only to say, if you didn’t eat at rapid pace, you didn’t get your fair share. So, I learned to eat quickly as we all did.

However, this steak and a Pichon Lalande takes over an hour and has lasted two hours on several occasions. One small bite of steak and a small sip of the right Pichon Lalande and my eyes roll as my head dips in complete appreciation and study. This 86 was no exception! Pichon Lalande is simply my favorite steak wine.

The nose on the front end reveals some barnyard but, dissipates as it opens in the glass. Saddle-wood & cedar, forest floor & dark cassis. Ripe & slightly baked; blackberries, dark cherries, mixed dark berry liqueur notes, blueberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, cherry notes on the glass edges and high nose. Black licorice, limestone minerals, dry stones, dry brush, steeped tea, light herbaceous notes, burnt caramel, vanillin, dark spice with bright red & blue flowers and dark withering florals.

The body is medium full and flat out gorgeous as it tantalites the palate. It’s a slow sipper. The tannins are slightly tarry & well resolved with years ahead. The structure, tension, length and balance have hit full harmony. Dark cassis, ripe & slightly baked; blackberries, dark cherries, mixed dark berry liqueur notes, blueberries, black raspberries, black plum, raspberries, plum and cherry notes on the glass edges and high nose. Black licorice, sweet tarry notes, limestone minerals, dry stones, dry brush, saddle-wood & cedar, forest floor, dark expresso roast, pipe tobacco, soft leather, dry crush rocks, steeped tea, light herbaceous notes, burnt caramel, vanillin, dark spice with bright red & blue flowers and dark withering florals. The acidity is like a waterfall over the palate. The long finish can only be described as ripe, ruby, well balanced Heaven and it is persistent for minutes. Puts on weight with an hour & half plus in the decanter. Tannins also...round, slightly gritty and dusty.

Happy New Year! 🥂🍾🎉🎊🎀🎈

Photos of, Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, painting of Virginie, Countess of Lalande and their barrel room.

Lady like. Fine and polished.

Still a baby

Jack & Arden put together a wonderful evening of delicious food and great wines, and a few of us attendees contributed some bottles to enjoy as well. Great night!

Served blind. I actually thought this was older than the previous wine (it wasn’t) and that this could be older Napa. Color wise, there was more translucence and bricking. Bing cherry, bay leaf, and herbal notes. Saddle leather, pipe tobacco, black cherry on the palate. A favorite producer of mine. Thanks for bringing @Jack Thompson

Too young to even judge

The 2006 Pichon is a big wine. Leather, pepper, dark cherries, plum. Soft velvet texture. Gorgeous.

1996 Pichon from Magnum. Never a bad thing... Tons of leather, tobacco, game, sage. Beautifully resolved tannins. Long finish. This is a truly classy wine.