CHÂTEAU PICHON LALANDE
2014 2ème Cru Classé Pauillac
What a nose - beautifully fragrant and intensely rich and broad. This has an incredibly sexy mouth-feel, full of sappy, rich fruit and then a lovely zip and chew from incredibly fine, glossy tannins. Super polished but not too opulent there is amazing elegance. Superb, spiced brambly fruit, a whiff of blackcurrant jelly. Finishes with more serious intensity and grip. Very good. Rating: 94 L&S (Apr 2015)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2014 Pichon Comtesse de Lalande has a gorgeous bouquet with a mixture of red and black fruit, scents of pencil box and wild hedgerow, gaining intensity in the glass. It is a little more opulent than the Pichon Baron. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, silky smooth in texture, moving discretely towards secondary flavors. However, the finish is brighter than many of its peers. Excellent. Tasted at Bordeaux Index's 10-Year On tasting and blind at the Southwold 10-Year On. Drinking range: 2024 - 2055 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2024)
Caressing and finessed tannins, with a pronounced floral character to the Cabernet Sauvingon, fragrant tomato leaf and iris alongside the dark cassis and bilberry fruits. Love this, totally delivering on the potential of 2014 in this corner of the Médoc. Hard to resist. This was the longest harvest on record at the estate, stretching from September 16 to October 14. 36hl/h yield, 60% new oak. First year in the new cellar, 3.61ph. Drinking range: 2024 - 2042 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, Decanter (Feb 2024)
Textured rich tannins, plenty of concentration and liqourice-soaked black fruits, plump and juicy, with precision and balance. This was the longest harvest on record because they had brought in true plot-by-plot picking at this point, stretching from September 16 to October 14. 36hl/h yield, 60% new oak. First year in the new cellar when they could really take their time, 3.61ph. Drinking range: 2022 - 2035 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, Decanter (Sept 2021)
The 2014 Pichon Lalande has the edge over Pichon Baron a few months ago. It is a tight race but here Pichon Lalande edges it. It has a wonderful, complex, intense bouquet with blackberry, briary, graphite and mint – just a straight-down-the-line Pauillac with all the aristocratic flair you look for. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, layers of pure black fruit laced with graphite and mint. It is blessed with a satin-like texture, not a hair out of place from start to finish, with a long, persistent aftertaste that completes a fabulous wine for the vintage. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2022 - 2055 Rating: 95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2018)
One of the highlights in a dark horse vintage for Bordeaux, the 2014 Pichon Lalande is absolutely exquisite. Aromatic and silky on the palate, with bright, finely sculpted fruit and mid-weight structure, the 2014 is a picture-perfect example of the best 2014 has to offer. I have always adored the 2014 Pichon Lalande. This tasting only serves to reinforce that feeling. Ideal conditions in September extended the harvest and yielded perfumed, silky wines. Drinking range: 2020 - 2044 Rating: 97 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Oct 2017)
Last year's varietal Cabernet Sauvignon wasn't to everyone's taste (although I loved it), but this is a more classic Pichon Comtesse. It's typically fresh and alluring with compact, age worthy tannins, oodles of perfume, fine black cherry, graphite and blackcurrant fruit and a chalky, minerally lift. Very impressive. Drinking range: 2022 - 2032 Rating: 95 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (May 2015)
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot. Up to 60% new oak. Very opulent nose. But almost more like a scent than a wine - as though all the effort has been put into the rather exotic perfume. Then quite vigorous and chewy. Rich and glamorous. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 17 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2015)
Red fruits, bramble the nose is fresh the start of the palate bright quite fragrant and fresh. The mid palate is rich serious deep lots of black fruits enriched by cocoa. Lighter at the back length of fruit precision and harmony the fresher black fruits lingering on the finish. Drinking range: 2027 - 2040 Rating: 89-92 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (Apr 2015)
The Château Pichon-Lalande 2014 is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot picked over five weeks between 16 September and 20 October. It has a very pure and precise bouquet with a light marine influencing the black cherries and blueberry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with a tense, graphite-tinged opening, a fine line of acidity (pH 3.72) and a silky smooth finish. The Cabernet Sauvignon is very expressive and dominates the Merlot at the moment, although the Merlot is essentially counterbalancing what might have been a much more austere Pichon-Lalande. Under Nicolas Glumineau, this Pauillac estate is really beginning to "motor" and this is an excellent wine, one within touching distance of the First Growths. Rating: 93-95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2015)
What a joy to feel the ultra-fine tannins in this wine! It really is like touching fine silk. It’s full-bodied with integrated drip fruit of tar, blackberries, minerals as well as a compacted and very long finish. Polished texture. Strong elegance. Reminds me of some outstanding wines of the 1980s such as 1986. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2015)
Vibrant, with a blaze of iron running from start to finish, while dark currant, cherry and plum fruit forms the core. The long, grippy, integrated finish shows excellent vivacity. Rating: 92-95 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2015)
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Pauillac Deuxième cru 1855 Facing Château Latour across the road, at the southern end of Pauillac, are the twin Château Pichons. Originally one estate, the two were divided in 1850 on the death of Joseph Pichon. His son Raoul inherited the title of Baron de Longueville and the vineyards of Château Pichon Longueville Baron de Longueville, whilst his daughters inherited the portion that became Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. The only daughter to produce off-spring was Marie-Laure who had married Comte Henri de Lalande in 1818 and it was her descendents, therefore, who shaped the future of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (or Pichon Comtesse as it is often more conveniently known). The two estates continued to be run as a single vineyard for another ten years, allowing them jointly to be awarded 2nd Growth status in 1855. Pichon Comtesse is now owned by the Rouzard family, owners of the Champagne house of Louis Roederer. Under the ownership of May de Lencquesaing in the final quarter of the 20th Century, the vineyard area of Pichon Comtesse grew from around 40ha to today's 75ha. The vines are 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel, with the wine spending 18 months in wood (50% new). Pichon Comtesse produce one of the most highly regarded second wines - Réserve de la Comtesse (recently renamed Pichon Comtesse La Réserve') - which rivals many other estate's grand vins. The healthy reputation that Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande enjoys puts it clearly in the mould of a "super second" - those 2nd Growth estates who's wines merit comparison with the Premier Grand Cru Classés. Pichon Comtesse has had the better of comparisons with its sibling Pichon Baron whose fortunes waned during the 20th Century even if, today, they are on a more equal footing. It is inevitable that the two Pichons will be compared with one another, with Comtesse being a more subtle seductive wine than its slightly foresquare namesake.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.