Neha Pereira Sahdev

9.3

Easy drinking Merlot blend — 6 years ago

Paul T HB

9.7

Love me some Shafer, do not love the new cork popper, as you can see it didn’t pop🙄, we got a floater now — 6 years ago

Jake Rubash

9.1

What an awesome Rosé, great depth and acidity. To Kalon fruit all the way baby!!! — 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

Sam Brenner

9.0

Citrus, melons and passion fruit for days. This is a Trader Joes stunner that is crisp and clean to the finish. Really good juice. Enjoy! — 10 years ago

Coop Coop

9.0

Yummy inexpensive blend. Smooth. — 10 years ago

Melanie Schwank-Hogendorn

9.5

Nice smooth Pinot. — 11 years ago

Sarah Twedt

9.6

Easy drinking right here, crispy, grapefruit, passion fruit — 12 years ago

Christopher Sprague

9.5

Could be the best NV champagne that is made! Magnum was it is prime and really tasting mature and fresh at the same time. Balanced and just fun to drink! — 6 years ago

Mike Finfer

9.6

savory mineral sour nose fizzy rose — 7 years ago

Jenny

9.8

Lovely and smooth with a slightly spicy finish. — 7 years ago

Philip Mondy

9.3

Mist certainly sweet — 8 years ago

Norman

9.4

An impossible Rose to get, but thanks to @Henrik Poulsen I got some along with an even better story. We will be trying his Rose in two weeks with a bunch of friends. I'm sure it will be as good. Had this during the crazy heat wave a few weeks back. It made having no a/c bearable. — 8 years ago

Eric

9.3

First of my -16 Dry Stacks. Everything you'd expect from this SB. There's a really nice pungency on the nose and palate that I haven't noticed in this wine before. Pop and poured it so maybe it will blow off but I hope not. — 9 years ago

Brent S

9.1

Fantastic stuff, but not the best QPR. — 9 years ago

.

8.9

Best on pop-and-pour, this faded a bit with air. Sported a pleasant green pepper note on the nose (but not on the palate), with an interesting tangy element in the finish. — 9 years ago

Daniel Taub

9.3

Very solid showing. Pop and pour from 375 — 10 years ago

Jonathan Michael

9.6

Grass, peaches, passion fruit, round but correct. Super lengthy. — 11 years ago

with Ryan

William Leslie

9.0

Crisp yet milder than others in the region. There is a citrus flavoring that is toned down with the fruits of melon and passion fruit. Nose is full of tropical fruit flavors. — 11 years ago

Deborah M

8.9

Enjoyed this Napa cab more than I thought I would. Fruit forward, smooth tannins, well balanced, cab. Pop and poured. Blue and black fruit. Nice weeknight bottle. — 6 years ago

Jim Chen

9.0

A great find! — 7 years ago

Tyler Mitchell

9.0

My ideal NZ Sauvignon Blanc, funky minerality on the nose, green bell pepper, lime, passion fruit, bright and fresh. — 7 years ago

John Malcolm

9.8

Fantastic! Intense, smoky, earthy, and sexy. Spices and cherries to boot. Pop and pour. Paired beautifully with venison. Juicy, creamy, and sweet finish. At its peak! — 8 years ago

Murat Rakhimzhan

9.0

Very fresh wine with aromas of green pepper, passion fruit, lychee, and grass.
In taste fresh, limes, passion fruit, grass green pepper — 8 years ago

Narun P

8.9

The color appears on the lighter side of what I would expect from a Rhone syrah. Ruby, quite transparent but no bricking yet. The wine airs well with a lot of flowery characters - rose petal, violet, and a slight hint of vine stem. Structurally in tact at 4 years of age. Medium plus acidity and tannin. Elegant with, again, floral showing on the palate backed by red cherry, some earthy, and mushroomy notes as well as slight meatiness. Good quaffable Saint Joseph that would do probably better with 4-5 years more of cellaring time. 89+ — 9 years ago

Rick Jordan

9.0

Super bright, clear wine, lighter bodied. Wonderful melon, lemongrass, passion fruit and white pepper nose. Green melon, passion fruit, peach, ginger and some herb notes I'm struggling to identify beyond the lemon grass, maybe tomato leaf? Passion fruit comes through nicely on the finish. Really pleased with this one! — 9 years ago

Jenks

9.0

So much passion fruit. I mean, I'd guess this is fermented passion fruit juice, over the top pith, passion fruit, rind....but I love it...in small doses. — 9 years ago

Martin G Rivard

9.4

I found this to be a very enjoyable wine. I was hoping for a little bit more Oak. I'm not quite sure how it would evolve over time. I always find these to be a great pop and pour wine. I never hang on to them too long in my cellar.
I would love feedback from anyone that has aged some of these to see how they evolve.@Ron R @Mike Rowe @David A Lentine @Howard Greenfield — 10 years ago

with Christine

Clay McLachlan

9.4

This is a beautiful bottle of bubbles. The terroir sings, it is racy and delicious. This bottle entirely from the 2011 vintage made with 65% Pinot meunièr, 20% Pinot noir, and 15% Chardonnay is an Extra Brut with 3.5g dosage/l. — 11 years ago

Dave Kluz

9.2

Explosive citrus and passion fruit. Good weight and perfectly balanced. — 11 years ago