CHÂTEAU PICHON LALANDE

Coming from the genius winemaking talent of Nicolas Glumineau, the 2016 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande matches the 1982 and is a perfect, legendary wine in the making. A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc brought up in 60% new oak, it's not the most powerful Left Bank but offers perfect balance and thrilling intensity as well as heavenly aromatics of crème de cassis, leafy herbs, jammy blackberries, tobacco leaf, and freshly sharpened lead pencils as well as more violets and minerality with time in the glass. Possessing a deep, full-bodied, singular character, the purity of fruit that's the hallmark of the vintage, building tannins, and a sense of class and elegance that's hard to describe, it's a 50-year-wine. While this cuvée has included a fair chunk of Merlot in the past that gave it more upfront appeal, it's important for readers to know it's much more Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated today, and while it is slightly more approachable than some of its neighbors, it shuts down rather quickly with time in the glass. (I followed this wine for multiple days.) I suspect a solid decade of cellaring is warranted. Drinking range: 2027 - 2077Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Feb 2019)

The 2016 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is every bit as regal as it has always been. Towering and spectacularly rich in the glass, the 2016 captures every ounce of potential is showed from barrel. The 2016 is a vivid, dramatically sweeping wine that will leave readers week at the knees. Beams of tannin give the 2016 soaring intensity that is matched by a host of aromas and flavors that open up in the glass. Blackberry jam, graphite, spice, menthol, licorice, pencil shavings and spice are all finely sketched in a bold, savory Pauillac that hits all the right notes. The 2016 Pichon Comtesse has been riveting on each of the four occasions I have tasted it from barrel thus far, making it easily one of the wines of the vintage. Nicolas Glumineu and his team turned out an epic Pichon Comtesse in 2016. Don't miss it! Drinking range: 2026 - 2066 Rating: 100 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)

The 2016 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc (compare that to the 2010 that had 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, for example--that should give you some pointers). The alcohol level is 13.32% and a pH of 3.76. I tasted from a new oak barrel and the final blend will include around 60% new wood and 40% one year old, which is something I took into account. It has a very succinct bouquet, one that is almost understated at first, gradually unfolding with blackberry, cedar and graphite scents, in the vein of say the 1986 or 1996 Pichon Lalande of the past. The palate is very well balanced and what I appreciate here is that it is still as much identifiable as Pichon Lalande as it is a Pauillac and a 2016. There is that touch of roundness imparted by the Merlot, even though the Cabernet dominates the blend, surely the terroir sculpting the wine. It gently builds in intensity, maintaining freshness, a gentle but insistent grip towards the finish and a very long aftertaste. This is probably just a notch up on the outstanding 2015 Pichon-Lalande, a Rolls Royce with a purring engine. Drinking range: 2025 - 2060 Rating: 96-98 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

Blackish crimson. Sweet start and much less obvious density than some, very Merlot and just a little soft. Super-supple certainly… But where's the beef? Drinking range: 2024 - 2040 Rating: 17- Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2017)

Linear and racy with ultra-fine tannins and a gorgeous center palate. Full-bodied, tight and so polished. The classicism and beauty are exceptional. Love the texture. Better than 2015? Rating: 96-97 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2017)

Beautiful mix of power and restraint that you can almost reach out and touch. The extraction is so silky that the effect is a wine that seems endless, suspended above your palate, caressing it and teasing you to find the tannins that are very much hidden. There are some rich coffee seams that fill out on the mid-palate with cassis and ripe blackberry notes, whipped together with violets and peonies. The juicy, mouthwatering quality just keeps on coming. The blend is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc from yields around 40hl/ha and with an IPT of 82, 10% higher than in 2010 but you simply can't tell. This is clearly going to age and age. One of the wines of the vintage, and I am ready to be seduced. Drinking range: 2027 - 2050 Rating: 98 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2017)

A deeply emotional, moving wine, the 2016 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is simply extraordinary. The tannins are nearly buried by the sheer intensity of the fruit, while the 100% new oak is remarkably well integrated at this stage. Dark, powerful and brooding, the 2016 possesses remarkable polish for such a big wine. The purity of the flavors is simply captivating. Scents of graphite, smoke, leather, tobacco and menthol soar from the glass, enhancing a core of deep, plush, dark fruit. All the elements fuse together in a wine of nearly unparalleled beauty. Although not inexpensive, Pichon-Lalande is arguably the single finest relative value in ageworthy wine in Bordeaux right now. Readers should do whatever they can to pick up the 2016. It is without question one of the wines of the vintage and potentially a legendary wine in the making. Rating: 97-100 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

Will this prove to be as great as the legendary 12, albeit in a very different style? It’s certainly in with a chance, because this is a superb wine: rich, dense, scented and refined, with caressing tannins, pithy dark berry fruit and a chalky, mineral-edged freshness. One of the Pauillacs of the vintage. Drinking range: 2024 - 2035 Rating: 98 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2017)

The 2016 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is very expressive on the nose, displaying more red fruit than the 2016 Lynch-Bages, but retaining classic Pauillac style thanks to tobacco and cedar scents that manifest with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. Very harmonious, leading to a pure and very detailed, almost pixelated finish that is utterly seductive. I would guess this is Pichon-Lalande [Post-edit: Bingo!] Superb. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2023 - 2050 Rating: 97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 1899)