Château PICHON COMTESSE DE LALANDE 2017

Description

Lisa Perrotti-Brown 94-96 points www.robertparker.com
This barrel sample is 100% new oak, whereas the final blend will be only 60% new oak. A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is very deep garnet-purple in color with an incredibly fragrant nose of roses, lavender and baking spices over a core of crushed blackcurrants, wild blueberries and fresh plums plus touches of iron ore and underbrush. Medium-bodied and elegant with firm, grainy tannins, it’s quite taut and muscular, with lots of perfumed and mineral layers and a long finish with lingering cinnamon and anise notes.
While no frost affected portions of the Pichon Lalande vineyard by the river, there were around 10% losses further inland. The final blends were made and put into barrel in early February.

Neal Martin 93-95 points www.vinous.com
The 2017 Pichon-Lalande was picked from 7 September to 2 October and underwent a 23 day cuvaison period. It is intense on the nose, the new oak coming through a little strongly since the sample came from a new barrel, the final blend consisting of 60% new wood. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, the Cabernet Sauvignon driving this alone with layers of black fruit laced with cedar and graphite. It is a very “Pauillac” Pichon Lalande, less opulent and giving than recent vintages and more in the style of say, the 1996 or 2010. There is very good persistence on the saline finish but it is clearly a wine that is going to require more cellaring than its peers. Tasted four times in total, each time this gained more substance and density.

Jean-Marc Quarin 95 points www.quarin.com
Ce cru commence à performer au niveau qu’il souhaite atteindre avec l’intégration de plus en plus élevée de cabernet sauvignon valorisant l’étoffe et le raffinement. Ma note primeur est supérieure à celle accordée au 2015 et égale à celle publiée sur les primeurs 2016. Couleur sombre, intense et belle. Nez intense, fin, fruité, mûr, subtil, avec une note de rose. Plutôt dense à l’attaque pour le cru, suave au développement, et en milieu de bouche, le vin se développe savoureux sur un toucher caressant avec du goût. Finale bien présente, longue, savoureuse, séveuse, au grain fin. C’est beau ! Depuis qu’en 2013 le cabernet sauvignon a pris une part plus importante dans le cru, voici, de mon point de vue, son plus beau succès. Assemblage : 70 % cabernet sauvignon, 23 % merlot, 6 % cabernet franc, 1 % petit verdot. Degré d’alcool : 13°, pH 3.78, IPT 70. Sélection du premier vin 50 % de la récolte.