CHÂTEAU PICHON LALANDE

I have been lucky enough to have this vintage of Comtesse three times in the past year, and two of the three bottles (including this one) have been brilliant. Considered one of the wines of the vintage at the time, this is packed full of signature Pauillac but also signature Comtesse. Silky seductive tannins at this point, powerful but with delicacy, soft saffron and cedar notes, with a smoked campfire finish. A higher proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the bottle than in most years, and it has helped it to remain enticingly firm. 50% of production went into the first wine. Drinking range: 2021 - 2035 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, Decanter (Sept 2021)

The 1996 Pichon-Lalande has long been one of my favorite wines from this period. A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot, it has a quintessential Pauillac nose: very intense, brilliant and delineated, with pure blackberry, graphite and mint aromas bursting from the glass. The palate seems to have softened just a little over the last couple of years, and there is great depth here. Dense black fruit, laced with cedar, hints of espresso and leather, fans out toward the grippy finish, which is just beginning to entertain more secondary aromas of sage and spice on the aftertaste. In many ways the '96 presages the style of wine that Nicolas Glumineau pursues today. Brilliant. Tasted at a vertical tasting at the château. Drinking range: 2019 - 2045 Rating: 96 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Aug 2019)

What a treat it is to taste these two Pichon Lalandes straight from the chateau’s cellar. The 1996 Pichon Lalande is stratospheric from the very first taste. The deep, layered bouquet alone is deeply transfixing. Smoke, mocha, dark spices, lavender, crème de cassis, a host of dark-fleshed fruits and a touch of warm, resonant sweetness from the French oak draw me in. All of those sensations follow through to the palate, where the wine is massive, intense and totally enveloping. Time has softened the tannins to the point the 1996 is ready to drink, but there is enough sheer concentration here to support another 20-30 years of exceptional drinking. I am not sure I possess the vocabulary to describe just how captivating the 1996 is, but I do know this: If I had an opportunity to pick up a few well-stored bottles I would take it in a nanosecond. Readers holding the 1996 should be thrilled. The 1996 Pichon Lalande is a magnificent wine with plenty of upside. In word: fabulous. Drinking range: 2016 - 2036 Rating: 97 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2016)