PICHON COMTESSE 'LA RÉSERVE'
2019
The 2019 Réserve de la Comtesse is conspicuously deep in colour. The bouquet takes time to unfurl with exceedingly pure blackberry, raspberry and cassis aromas, the oak seamlessly integrated. The palate is very well balanced with fresh acidity, fine grain tannins, a touch of salinity developing towards the finish that has more grip than previous vintages. Superb. Drinking range: 2024 - 2044 Rating: 92-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2020)
* 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.
Réserve de la Comtesse is especially fine in 2019. Wonderfully dark, fleshy and inviting, the Réserve is just striking today. A rush of dark red/purplish fruit builds effortlessly in the glass. More than anything else, the Réserve impresses for its sensual, inviting personality. It is an ideal second wine that is approachable and avoids being excessively serious, as some recent editions have been Rating: 91-93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2020)
The 2019 Réserve de Pichon Comtesse has an open-knit, slightly meaty bouquet with dried blood infusing the brambly red fruit. A little rustic in style. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, moderate depth, off-dry with a nicely proportioned, pencil shaving-tinged finish. Fine. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drinking range: 2025 - 2038 Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
The 2019 Réserve de la Comtesse is elegant, silky and nuanced, with terrific presence and tons of pure class. Crushed red berry fruit, mint, blood orange, rose petal and spice all build with a bit of aeration. I am so impressed with the wine's breadth and textural intensity. The 2019 Réserve is without a doubt one of the best recent editions here. Drinking range: 2027 - 2039 Rating: 94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)
The 2019 Réserve de Pichon Comtesse fulfills the impressive showing from barrel. Beautifully defined on the nose, it offers intense blackberry and briary scents mixed with mint. The medium-bodied palate offers supple but firm tannins and well-judged acidity. Quite dense for a Deuxième Vin, with superb precision on the bold finish. Great value for money, and it will age extremely well in bottle. Drinking range: 2024 - 2044 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)
Plenty of tannins that are muscular and dense, clearly signposting a 2nd wine from a high quality estate. Has grip and tension through the palate, with cocoa shavings and fresh acidities. There are black fruits here, a little subdued at the moment, but this is impressive. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter (Jan 2022)
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Reserve de la Comtesse hits the ground running with aromas of warm black and red plums, stewed cherries and mulberries wafting out of the glass plus hints of spice cake, violets, bouquet garni and Ceylon tea. The medium to full-bodied palate appears a bit weightier than the grand vin, with more open-knit, richer fruit at this youthful stage, delivering a plush texture and plenty of freshness, finishing with lingering notes of plum preserves. Rating: 92-94 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Jun 2020)
The nose fluctuates between Pauillac sap (cedar, graphite), fruit (ripe strawberry) and flowers (lily of the valley, lilac). Raising expectations of a rich and juicy palate. Unsurprisingly, we find the same impressions in the mouth. Long and sappy, the wine is velvety, held taut by a lovely acidity and driven by an almost physical sensation of tannin. The red fruits (strawberry, cherry) are combined with sandalwood and cedar, a confirmation of the Pauillac terroir.Winemaker's notes (Jun 2020)
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 - 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 on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at 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 £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
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). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2025. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.