Greg Koslosky

9.5

Vinotheque bottling wow! — 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. — 9 years ago

Stanislav Lobanov

9.0

Светло-лимонный. В аромате сладкие яблоко и груша, лимонный мармелад, сдоба в развитии. Среднее тело, высокая кислотность. Во вкусе засахаренный лимон. Полусладкое. Долгое послевкусие. — 11 years ago

Sal F.

9.2

The nose opens with brioche, and a lovely limestone and chalk minerality. On the palate, the wine opens up with a refreshing acidity with a gradual transition to Granny Smith Apple, pineapple and a long creamy finish. It reminds me of Roederer Estate at half the price. — 13 years ago

Bryce Wiatrak

9.0

Roederer Estate and Scharffenberger both call Anderson Valley home and together yield some of California’s most consistently delicious and affordable sparkling wines. Of the couple, Scharffenberger vinifies rounder, more lush wines. Flavors of ripe pear skin, white rose, and baked apple find their footing against a backdrop of yeast, cheese rind, and patisserie in the image of Champagne. The perfect wedding reception wine or Tuesday night sparkler for its tremendous quality to cost ratio. — 8 years ago

with Stacy and Mitchell

Peter Kuzma

9.0

First wine posted from Chicago! — 9 years ago

Nico J. Snyman

8.9

So great to see a Champagne made from the ground up to be a Brut Nature, this is definitely indicative of the richness of '09, don't know about the long-term ageability though, as the acidity is already looking a little out of balance. — 9 years ago

Masaya Furushima

9.1

May 20, 2016 — 10 years ago

Dave Marshall

9.0

Disgorged in 2004. Having experienced only mass market, mid range champaign, this is a surprising bottle. Color is a rich straw yellow. The nose is dominated by bread yeast, canned peaches, butterscotch or perhaps floral honey, and maybe a little petroleum. Palate leads with a big burst of that butterscotch on the back of the tongue, which fades quickly to a slightly floral and tight, almost hoppy middle stage. The finish arrives after a few seconds, and is clean and crisp. It hangs on well with subtle floral notes and a nice tart glow. The finish is familiar, but still more persistent than similarly priced options from Roederer or Moet.

If you want familiar and safe, this is not it. It will definitely teach you something about champaign though. — 11 years ago

A Pappini

9.0

good as usual — 11 years ago

Jason Heller

Master Sommelier

9.2

This and the Roederer L'Ermitage are about as good as it gets for CA sparkling. — 11 years ago

Paul Mabray

Founder VinTank

9.1

Late Disgorged awesomeness. — 12 years ago

with Angelica

Andres Delgadillo

9.5

Drinking it with good friends !! #goodtoseeyouagain — 8 years ago

spitts

9.5

Love the guy I'm drinking it with, a notable red from a bubble house. — 9 years ago

David Morden

9.7

Beautifully developed bouquet of bisquit and caramel? Long long finish. A treat. — 9 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

8.9

Created in the 15th century, de Pez is the oldest domaine in Saint Estèphe. The Pontac family gave Pez its vineyards. The property was purchased by Champagne Louis Roederer in 1995. Deep red with fresh fruit aromas and floral spice. Dry firm tannins with good structure allows for further aging. Savory on the finish with earthy mineral, needs decanting. — 9 years ago

Issei Chiba

9.9

Sinply amazing. Have had nothing better. Delicately aged wine with lively mousse. — 10 years ago

Ryan Brazell

Rise Over Run

9.3

A Blanc de Blancs for Roederer or Krug partisans. — 11 years ago

Andrew Whittle

Co-Owner/Director Summit Estate Wines

9.4

2008 vintage Rose - perfect fruit & balance - perfect start to a week in Paris! — 11 years ago

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

10

I couldn't resist opening this next to the 2006 Roederer Brut Nature "Stark" as they are the only two assemblage style bio dynamic Champagnes that I know of. The Sapience has quiet power and persistence that puts it in a class by itself while maintaining grace and transparency on the level of the best Saar wines. A wower. — 11 years ago