MICHAEL COOPER DipWSET

Owner TomeVinos wine shops, WSET Level 3, Blogger www.spanishwinesandmore.com, blog.tomevinos.com

9.0

Medium(+) intensity aromas of black fruit (plum, cherry and prune) with secondary aromas of oak (cedar, smoke and dark chocolate) and just beginning to show some tertiary aromas and flavors of tobacco leaf and prunes. The wine has medium(+) acidity, medium(+) fine grained textural tannins and medium(+) body. The finish is medium (+) and while slightly grippy, those tannins are ripe and it’s that structure which will give it the ability to age in bottle for another 5/7 years. There is enough fruit and defined aromas and flavors to balance the acidity and the tannins which want to be the protagonista of this wine. A solid Claret. #saintestephe #bordeaux #grandvindebordeaux #cabernet #cabernetsauvignon #merlot and just 5% #petitverdot — 3 years ago

with Rosario

Justin

9.1

Nice full bodies Bordeaux. Great nose. 2011 drinking very well! — 4 years ago

Matt Sterr

9.1

Fusel Oil nose. Great nose. Bright and tangy, tropical Pez. Nice acid. Light RS. — 5 years ago

David Shaw

9.0

Pale white, excellent clarity. Floral, some lemon in nose. Meyer lemon / lemon Pez flavor with length, with some floral in finish. Rounded mouthfeel, dry. Slight skin astringency in aftertaste; later, lactic character develops. Solid rendition of variety. Paired well with season premiere of Better Call Saul — 6 years ago

John Willison

9.0

Pale color, bright palate. Muted nose. Tangerine initially, austere watermelon rind mid palate, and a citrus acidic PEZ like finish. Nice. — 7 years ago

Liza Nedelman

8.9

Very yellow, notes of honey and ending of pez. A little tangy, VERY floral — 7 years ago

with John, Krissy and 1 other

Antoine Cauchard

8.9

Petit Saint-Estèphe qui va bien avec le fromage. Une belle approche agréable en bouche et un bon petit retour gouleyant — 7 years ago

John Willison

9.0

Lemon and crushed shell nose. Lemon zest, pez-like citrus acidity, minerals. Well made — 8 years ago

John Willison

9.1

Sweet meyer lemon, lemon Pez, wet stone, clean clean finish. — 3 years ago

Jodi Suguitan

9.2

Lychee, Peach, green pineapple,
lime, slate, pez candy, and wax. — 4 years ago

Tom Garland

9.5

K&L Wine Merchants annual Fete du Bordeaux dinner with:
1) Jean Charles Cazes (Lynch Bages)
2) Damien Barton (Leoville/Langoa)
3) Mariello Cazuax(winemaker La Conseillante)..sat next to her for dinner.

Dinner wines:
2018 Blanc de Lynch Bages
2015 La Conseillante
2006 Lynch Bages
2009 Langoa Barton
2009 Lynch Bages
2005 Leoville Barton
2010 La Conseillante

Pre-dinner tasting:
2017 La Conseillante
2017 Ormes de Pez.
2017 Langoa Barton
2017 Lynch Bages
2017 Leoville Barton
2016 Mauvesin-Barton — 4 years ago

with Brenda

David Shaw

9.1

Pale white, excellent clarity. Lime and floral notes in nose. Lemon custard and peach flavors, crisp, dry but fruity, not semidry. Mild astringency with lime, minerality and maybe lactic on finish. Peach and lemon Pez aftertaste. Nuanced wine, excellent varietal expression, well crafted. — 6 years ago

Nathan Meade

9.0

Lots of grapefruit citrus. A little chalky. A pez or spree like sweetness. Interesting. — 7 years ago

Sergio Licea

9.5

Ripe red cherries, raspberry, vanilla bean, white pepper, clove, pez candy. Snapping rounded acidity, minimal smooth velvet tannins, light-medium bodied, silky concentrated texture, long tart red fruit, slightly peppery finish. Young, elegant, aromatics evolved in glass. — 7 years ago

John Willison

9.2

Crushed lemon PEZ, almond oil, and citrus nose. Citrus, minerals. Very nice. — 8 years ago

Lars Fasel

9.0

Dark cherry, cacao, iodine, medicinal, & dust. Really approachable now. — 4 years ago

William Paley

9.6

Farm soil, licorice, flint, and a little bit of wet lumber on the nose. Cherry pie, herbs, and pez next. Acid wash denouement. Corpuscular - needles etching the edge of a dime. — 4 years ago

with Jess

Geoff Watts

9.2

Maracuya. Great acids. Refreshing and citric. Pez. — 4 years ago

Nektarios Papasavvas

9.0

Rounded tanins, fruity — 6 years ago

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. — 7 years ago