Peter Sultan

9.1

Only red we had paired w Basque tapas & what a pairing. It’s a blend from Outside Madrid- syrah, garnacha, carinena & morenillo , it all hangs together in a loose, fresh style. Not too far removed from a Cru Beaujo. Dark red fruits, surprisingly long & a bit of grip. A ‘ villages level’ from the Spanish version of the Gang of Four. An easy wine easy to like. — 3 years ago

with Owen

Joe

9.3

Another great wine from the Wagner family ! — 6 years ago

Tom Lyons

9.0

Very subtle. Really enjoyed this! — 6 years ago

Michael Seely

9.4

What a splendid nicely aged wine. Tyson Crowley is exceptionally talented! — 7 years ago

with Jeff and Joe

Linden McGreevy

9.0

Carbonic cranberries. — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Started in 1972 with a simple philosophy - to focus production on only one varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon. A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot & 0.5% Malbec. Dark opaque Ruby with aromas of red fruits, oak, sweet herbs and spice. On the palate raspberry and blackberry flavors with notes of cacao and espresso. Fine dusty tannins, satisfying acidity on lingering smooth finish ending with sweet oak tones. Nice! — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Pichon Lalande is my favorite 2nd growth with a steak. Yup...it's #SteakandClaret night to quote my buddy Gary Westby. Further, it's certainly one of my favorite producers period. I've waited for this wine to be in the bottle for 10 years before finding out definitely how good it was or wasn't. You see, the 05 Bordeaux vintage was exceptional. It's drinking right now better than 00. 00 may turn out to be better, but not for some time. The real issue was the division of scores between RP & NM. Parker had this as low as an 86 and now has it at 89. Neil Martin has been consistently at 95-96. I found it simply inexplicable that Pichon Lalande could have bombed in such a great vintage. Tonight, I know they didn't. This wine is beautiful. Although, I don't believe it will cellar as long as their some of their very best vintages and many others I've enjoyed. On the nose, bramble, ripe blackberries, dark cherries, notes of blueberries, poached strawberries, graphite, baking spices, cedar, lightly perfumed violets and dark, fresh & dry red flowers. The body is medium-medium plus, tannins nicely resolved with 10 years to be completely resolved. Fruits of; ripe blackberries, dark cherries, notes of blueberries, poached strawberries and pomegranate with a whiff of spice. There's notes of dry bramble, soft leather, fresh violets, graphite, cedar, dry stones, dark rich earth, limestone, tobacco, spice-box, vanilla, very light cinnamon & nutmeg. The finish is very long, elegant, ripe, round, smooth, good acidity and beautifully elegant...50-50 earth & fruit. I bought more bottles of this at $85 after it's was first released in futures and I do not regret it. $85 is proving to be a steal for this wine when it normally sells for between $100-$150 a bottle and higher. Might heavy up further after tonight if I find more around the same price. Oh yes...I'm with NM on the scoring. Photos of the Chateau, estate vines, newer tasting room & the Virginie de Pichon-Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande. Forgive my long post, but my passion and love for this producer is profound. Producer history and notes...as I wrote in an earlier post for Pichon Baron, Pichon Baron and Lalande started as one entity. The first mention of what is now called Chateau Pichon Lalande was the creation of Pierre de Mazure de Rauzan. Pierre de Mazure de Rauzan is responsible for forming many of the top Bordeaux estates today. Pichon Lalande was given its name when Therse, the daughter of the founder received the estate as a dowry when she married Jacques de Pichon Longueville. Pichon Lalande was essentially managed by three women, Therese de Rauzan, Germaine de Lajus and Marie Branda de Terrefort. On the eve of his death in 1850, Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville divided the property between his five children. His three daughters received Pichon Lalande and his sons Pichon Baron. What happened next was Virginie, the wife of the Count of Lalande took over the management of the estate under the name of Comtesse de Lalande. In 1850 she commissioned the popular, architect Duphot to build a residence inspired by the Hotel de Lalande, located in Bordeaux. Without heirs, Pichon Lalande passed down from aunts to nieces. Following World War I, the Miailhe brothers, bought Pichon Lalande in 1925. They were the ones who planted even more Merlot. May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, the daughter of Edouard Miailhe became the new owner and general manager of Chateau Pichon Lalande in 1978. She expand the size of Chateau Pichon Lalande from 40 hectares to it's current 89 hectares. Chateau Pichon Lalande remained in the same family for more than 250 years! In fact, over three centuries, only two families have owned Pichon Lalande. May-Eliane de Lencquesaing sold Pichon Lalande to the owners of Roederer Champagnein in January 2007. This family-run company is managed by Frederic Rouzaud who owned several other wine estates in Bordeaux; Chateau Bernadotte, Chateau de Pez, Haut Beausejour and Chateau Reaut la Graviere. He sold Chateau Bernadotte in December 2012. In February, 2011, Sylvie Cazes was named the director of Chateau Pichon Lalande. She replaced Gildas d’Ollone. Sylvie Cazes was replaced in 2012 by current Director Nicolas Glumineau, who was previously at Chateau Montrose. In 2012, Pichon Lalande renovated the estate with a budget estimated at over 15 Million Euros. The new facilities included; building of a new underground barrel aging cellar and several new buildings...one that houses their new tasting room as shown. This renovation provided numerous improvements in their wine making. Most importantly, in the vinification. They created a new, triple tiered, cellar where everything moves by gravity. They also added numerous new, stainless steel, temperature controlled, double skinned vats. These new vats allow Pichon Lalande to vinify on a parcel by parcel basis as well as get much softer & gentle extractions. The 89 hectare vineyard of Chateau Pichon Lalande is located adjacent to Chateau Latour and and across the road from Pichon Baron. The terroir of Chateau Pichon Lalande is deep gravel with clay and limestone soil and is planted to; 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Blend of 96% Sauv Blanc with 4% Sauv Gris adding an interesting dynamic to the wine & distinctive aromas (prior to ‘18 vintage some Semillon added). Pale lemon color, citrus, tropical & floral aromas. On the palate peach, melon, herb & earthy tones, well balanced with acidity, smooth yet robust on a long finish ending rich with wet stone character. Good value! A Fav!! Very consistent! — 4 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2017 vintage — 5 years ago

Armando Klein

10

Venge definitely doesn’t miss the mark with this fine Syrah. Finest Rhone I’ve enjoyed all year in fact! Dark, brawn and restrain. Will be a great one to buy and lay down as well! — 6 years ago

Michelle Beer

9.0

Lovely cab franc/cab sauv blend. Great with food, grilled meats especially. — 7 years ago

Lauren Chooljian Baer

9.2

YUM. This is exactly what I want in my Gamay - barely effervescent, a little funk and super juicy. #shouldhavebought2 — 8 years ago

Pete Talala

9.4

Happy Thanksgiving 2017! 4 Winds will be the 1st one. Super approachable 2013! Solid & high quality experience from Thomas. — 8 years ago

Dmitry Muzychak

9.0

Выпито в Обнинске 21.10.21. Сегодня на мои стройки наехало ФМС с Росгвардией. Задержали 4 -х рабочих. К вечеру отпустили. Боремся. Вино - классическое Бордо, половинка 2013 года. Рабочее. — 4 years ago

Ian Hamel

9.4

2021/3-4. Really lovely - at 20, it is indeed Burgundian in its open, red fruit character, but it still has that hot-stone Chateauneuf character. I’m so glad I kept a few of these - I now have just one more left. Considering the price has doubled, I don’t know how many more I’ll get to lay down, so I’ll look forward to that last bottle of 2001 with a mix of excitement and sadness. — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

From magnum. Opened and decanted 4 hrs before serving. Reddish tawny, regal color with lighter rims. Great old Bordeaux bouquet. Notes of dried cherries, tobacco leaf, cola, some rhubarb, forest floor and some old cherry wood. Well balanced and suave in the mouth. Paired well with steaks, and a great contrast to the younger Napa cabs. — 6 years ago

Rufus King

9.0

Big, dry Spanish Monastrell, with medium tannin, herby finish at Barcelona in the South End, Boston — 7 years ago

Bob Halifax

9.1

An Aussie Riesling that I, a Canadian Riesling “freak,” can happily knock back. Too bad we couldn’t arrange an on-the-spot tasting at the winery the other day. — 8 years ago

Robert Agans

9.1

Very good! Paired this with bison meatballs (fresh parsley, garlic powder, pepper, onion powder) ... baked 3/4 and then simmered in marinara over whole wheat spaghetti. Awesome dinner. — 8 years ago

James Forsyth

9.4

Delicious. It was tastier than I anticipated. The balance is what stands out the most. Spice notes with red cherries, this wine was a massive hit at dinner. — 8 years ago