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Goedhuis, May 2021, Score: 96-98
77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc
The notable percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend this year is representative of the direction led by Nicolas Glumineau to increase the proportion of Cabernet. His wish is to give the wine greater Pauillac expression, without distracting from the characteristic Comtesse elegance. Dense inky colour, dark berries, with a touch of tapenade and Cabernet graphite. The initial grace and poise recede as the build-up of Pauillac pedigree increases. This has great structure and then the sweetness and charming mocha and cocoa come through on the finish. Lovely.
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Neal Martin, January 2024, Score: 99
The 2020 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande has one of the more opulent aromatic profiles amongst the flight of Pauillac wines, displaying black cherries, cassis, graphite and cedar. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannins and a silver bead of acidity. Silky smooth in texture, this retains impressive composure toward the finish, handling the weight of fruit with class. It improves with each swirl, though the bottle I tasted just after bottling had a touch more precision. Nevertheless, this a fabulous Pauillac that flirts with perfection. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
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Neal Martin, December 2022, Score: 98
The 2020 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande has a very intense bouquet with layers of black fruit, hints of seaweed/brine, crushed stone, and perhaps less mint than it displayed from barrel. This possesses stunning delineation, like a perfect C major chord echoing around an empty cathedral. The palate is very well balanced, much more classic in style than its barrel showing, saline to its core, with hints of brine. A Pauillac where you can really sense the Gironde estuary flowing through its veins. Nicolas Glumineau has one of his finest creations on his hands, and when it grows up, it will be challenging First Growths. Drink 2027-2055
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Neal Martin, May 2021, Score: 96-98
The 2020 Pichon-Lalande has a backward nose similar to that of its neighbor Pichon-Baron, and so I decanted the bottle for 45 minutes. It then revealed gorgeous scents of blackberry, wild hedgerow, seaweed (Japanese nori) and wild mint. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit and gentle but insistent grip. Very intense but not ripe; there is a coolness about this Pauillac that I like, while the finish is very classically styled and leaves behind a persistent, slightly briny aftertaste. This is a magnificent, cerebral Pichon-Lalande that will deserve serious aging and the patience of anyone still waiting for The Cure's new album. Tasted three times, including directly from the château. Drink 2027 - 2055
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Antonio Galloni, December 2022, Score: 97+
The 2020 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is an opulent, massively tannic wine that is going to need many years to come together. Waves of dark fruit, leather, dried flowers and chocolate emerge with great reluctance, framed by huge, insistent tannins that never let up. The 2020 is a wine for readers who can be very, very patient. I am not sure when the 2020 is going to be ready to drink, but it is not likely to be anytime soon. Tasted two times. Drink 2032-2060
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Antonio Galloni, June 2021, Score: 95-97
The 2020 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is holding so much in reserve. Tightly wound and not fully expressive, the 2020 is going to need at least a few years to come out of its shell. Bright acids and persistent tannins give the 2020 a super classic, mid-weight feel. I very much like the wine's persistence. Readers will have to be patient with the 2020. The exuberance of some recent vintages is not present today. The blend is 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, which means a touch more Cabernet Sauvignon than in recent years, and quite a bit more than in the past. Harvest ran from September 7 to October 1, which is about ten days earlier than normal. In the cellar, Estate Manager Nicolas Glumineau opted for light extractions, with minimal pumpovers of just one volume of wine per day, at no more than 25 degrees Celsius. Time on the skins was 21 days, pretty much the norm these days. Tasted two times. Drink 2032 - 2060
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Wine Advocate, May 2021, Score: 95-97
Deep purple-black in color, the 2020 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande begins on a single, well-defined, wonderfully pure note of ripe blackcurrants, opening out to a melody of redcurrant jelly, kirsch, ripe blackberries and tar, with emerging suggestions of dark chocolate, cardamom, ground cloves and violets, with a waft of black truffles. Medium-bodied, tightly wound and with loads of fantastically nuanced black fruit layers, it has a rock-solid frame of finely grained tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long and mineral laced. The blend this year is 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc. Drink 2026-2050
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James Suckling, April 2021, Score: 96
This is extremely structured, but with a level of polish and refinement that highlights the excellence of the terroir. Very long and expansive on the palate, showing class and beauty. Powerful.
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Decanter, May 2021, Score: 96
Softer and silkier than many Pauillacs in the vintage, this is a clear success. Hugely silky and seductive, with grip, power and finesse. One of the best of the appellation, with finessed tobacco, heather and plump blueberry and cassis fruit, expertly managing the low 30hl/ha yield. 60% new oak. Tasted twice. Drink 2030-2048
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Matthew Jukes, May 2021, Score: 18
There is a huge mass of energy in this wine and this signals a particularly long-lived vintage for Pichon Lalande. Densely packed with dark, mineral-soaked fruit there is little excess flesh here over the impressive core of muscle. The tannins are firm but not drying and while this is a powerfully built Lalande there is ample black fruit here, too. Closed and rather contemplative, there are certainly the building blocks of an impressive wine here, but it has a long way to go and don’t expect it to turn the corner any time soon.
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Jancis Robinson, April 2021, Score: 18
Bright crimson hue. Generous, vineyard-nuanced fruit on the nose with complex cassis and graphite notes. Fruit equally generous on the palate, backed by an abundance of fine tannin. Lots of drive and persistence. Punchier and more masculine in style than 2019. Definitely one for the cellar. (JL) Drink 2028 – 2045
