Natalya Pemberton

9.0

A little too much vanilla for me, but it was beautifully balanced by the acidity. Very delicious wine. — 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

Christine Havens

8.9

If my research is correct, the 2007 vintage of Phélan Ségur is pre-consultation with Michel Rolland. Parker routinely scored these wines in the mid-to-lower 80s, clearly he didn't care for them. The 2007 is old-school Saint-Estèphe, with brooding aromas of coffee grounds, black currents, barnyard funk and freshly overturned soil. Fine tannins on the attack, tinged with cedar, and smartly capped off with dried herbs and minerals. For its price, I found it to be enjoyable. — 9 years ago

Victor Hwang

9.2

Quite surprisingly delicious. 2003 is maligned but I found this to be chocolately, strong olive notes, some tobacco, grippy tannins and a bit of heat. The heat of the vintage shows up in its sweetness and greater resemblance to CA cabs, but it's delicious and enjoyable no matter what the critics say. — 9 years ago

Lance Sugimura

10

I once thought Opus One was one exquisite red, now Insignia has found a special place in my heart and palate. — 9 years ago

William Bonard

9.8

2004 Vintage Dom Pérignon I found in the Spanish supermarket. Bargain for €127! — 10 years ago

James Gardner

9.7

Best five dollar wine ever. — 11 years ago

Jamie Michelson

9.7

Found cellar notes. Bought for $25 in 1990 in NY for New Years Eve dinner. Still memorable. — 6 years ago

WineMascot

9.0

I forgot to take a picture so I found a stock photo, the 2014 proves again that Juvenile is consistently a great Zin. blue fruit, hint pepper and the brabmbly finish — 7 years ago

jams jerfy

9.0

so, this was rated on a curve. stored in a fridge in another city. fridge died in summer and it was weeks before i found it. it was baked. and then it was weirdly ok. just used it to explain to @captain henrik how get wine out of a bottle with a coravin (merry xmas, cap'n!) expecting it to be destroyed. lo and behold. second wine from that lot which wasn't ruined. the OTHER, miraculously, was the bernaudeau "sans souffre" which I'll never understand why it was ok. maybe there are wine elves sticking ice in the dead fridge until I found it.... god jul!! — 7 years ago

with captain and Christina

Casey Stringer

9.4

I just found this for a ridiculous price at a sort of out of the way liquor store on my way home from the dentist. $60! Had to take a flier on it for that price. The wine is excellent. Darker than expected. Silky tannins with notes of sandalwood and tart cherry. Years of good drinking ahead on this one. — 8 years ago

Yelena Iglanova

9.5

Burgundy red, bouquet of red berries on the nose. Juicy mouthful dark and red berries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries and plum, hint of vanilla, violets and light oak. Soft finish with velvety tannin.
Lovely wine for great price, can be found in Costco. Will go well with mostly anything. — 8 years ago

Eric Guido

9.7

This showed an intense, exotic and deeply layered nose, as savory cherry gave way to notes of charred meat and Indian spice, before it turned fresh and invigorating with spiced-citrus and wild herbs. On the palate, I found rich, intense yet silky textures with savory cherry and spice, giving way to sweet herbs and a hint of citrus. Is it grapefruit and brown spices or dried orange? It’s hard to tell, but the results are stunning. The finish was lifted and long with sweet tannin coating the senses as notes of sour cherry and orange peel lingered long. This is drop-dead gorgeous--a truly wild yet elegant wine. — 8 years ago

Alex Ferri

10

Found it in my garage. Was not drinkable but I assume excellent. — 9 years ago

Ira Schwartz

9.4

An earth driven nose with overtones of garrigue. This wine was terroir driven vs fruit driven. Compared to the other vintages I found this wine benefited the least from air. — 9 years ago

Jordan Pope

9.0

Best bang for your buck I've found. — 9 years ago

Daniel Mahdavian

Consulting Somm-Daniel Mahdavian Ventures

10

Gorgeous aroma/bouquet...White chocolate & delicate spice...Cinnamon & little nutmeg...Meaty & great balance. Perfect maturity & long steady finish on the mouth..,Wish I had found more bottles! — 9 years ago

CYesh

9.7

Mia in Pulp Fiction sums up my feelings about this wine. "That's when you know you've found somebody special. When you can just shut the f&$@ up for a minute and comfortably enjoy the silence." — 10 years ago

Ben Franco

Owner Winedown cafe & wine bar

8.9

Strawberries cranberry and raspberry are dominate beautiful acidity and med soft tannin... — 7 years ago

Chris Grimm

9.1

Funky, earthy, tart, and delicious. — 7 years ago

with Jonathan and Brooke

Tommy Fogarty

Owner Thomas Fogarty Winery

9.3

I found this to be amazing. Dark blue and black (but very fresh) fruit aromas with wood oil and spirit (whiskey? Agave?) undertones. The wine seemed tight at first from the decanter but got more open and supple over 90 minutes. The wine was balanced and had texture on the palate. Probably near it's peak, and probably would've been benefitted from even more time in the decanter. — 7 years ago

with Nathan and Lily

Shannon LaDuke

9.0

I found this bottle alone on a shelf with no price in the supermarket. I took a chance because I love their Freakshow. It was a right move. — 8 years ago

Millie Osti

10

@Lucy Hill Smith look what we found in St Tropez! Lots of love to you my Bella xxxx — 8 years ago

Amber Gudas

9.7

Amazing Napa blend found in Beijing — 8 years ago

Scott Wiegand

9.0

I found this Cabernet to be surprisingly good especially at the price, major QPR in my opinion. Brambly fruit and spice, balanced and complex with good but not overpowering structure and a satisfying finish. — 8 years ago

Paul T- Huntington Beach

9.2

Another winner, much better than other wines I've had in the same price range, just found some for $40.00 including shipping & tax, great deal! Bought a case, — 9 years ago

Ahmaud T

9.5

The hints of lime, sans the harsh acidity, apple, and nectarine, make this the perfect summer wine. Be sure to look for deals on this one. I found it for $10.99 at Earth Fare, and that's virtually a steal for such a fantastic white. — 9 years ago

Patty Jakeway

9.2

Got as gift. Real smooth. — 9 years ago

Sean Gouge

10

Best $7 bottle I've found. — 10 years ago

Donald Patz

Owner/Winemaker Patz & Hall

10

A great wine. I loved it when it was first released. I found one at auction and it still had that "thing" that caught my attention so long ago. Fresh and beautiful at 37. — 11 years ago