Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2021 Réserve de la Comtesse is a seriously great wine in its peer group. Or any peer group. Rich and layered, with no hard edges and compelling balance, the 2021 opens beautifully in the glass. Savory accents run through a core of black cherry and plum fruit, with hints of gravel, spice and leather that develop later. This year's blend includes 14% reserve wine, but that is not especially evident. I don't think I have ever tasted a more refined Réserve de la Comtesse. Superb. –Antonio Galloni
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Wine Enthusiast
Tight spice and rich acidity along with cooked meat and dark-pepper aromas give this secondlabel wine both structure and elegance. Its richness and openess are dominant.
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James Suckling
Firm and polished tannins highlight this second wine from Pichon Lalande, with dark berry, chocolate, meat and cedar character as well as lead pencil. Very polished with structure and length. Needs time to soften. Better after 2027.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Wafting from the glass with notes of blackberries, minty cassis, petals and pencil shavings, the 2021 Resèrve de la Comtesse is medium to full-bodied, ample and polished, with a fleshy core of fruit, beautifully refined tannins and a seamless, succulent profile. This beautifully balanced wine will drink well on release. It's one of the most successful second wines produced this year.
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Wine Spectator
Engaging, with a flurry of violet, alder and black tea notes leading off, followed by a solidly built core of black currant and sweet bay leaf elements. The finish reveals warm earth and cast iron details. A textbook Pauillac. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2034.
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Decanter
Perfumed blackcurrants on the nose and palate - juicy and succulent, the tannins are mouth filling and have a cool blue fruit flavor, almost blueberry and plum, fresh with a softly fleshy texture. Lovely depth on the mid-palate, it doesn't let up - going from start to finish with gusto. You also get licorice, clove tones - dark spiced aspects but they’re integrated and don't cause angles just nuances in terms of flavor. You've definitely got the Pauillac power and concentration but also an energy that is so captivating. A confident second wine that has direction.
Barrel Sample: 90 -
Jeb Dunnuck
The second wine 2021 Pichon Comtesse Reserve is based on 56% Cabernet Sauvignon 36% Merlot, and 8% Petite Verdot. It's a solid second wine that brings good intensity in its ripe red and blue fruits (plums, redcurrants) as well as classic Pauillac graphite, tobacco, and spicy oak. It's medium-bodied, balanced, and elegant, with fine tannins and an incredibly drinkable style.
Ideally located in the southern part of Pauillac, on the banks of the Gironde Estuary, Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, a second growth in the 1855 classification, boasts an outstanding terroir. Here, Cabernet Sauvignon is king, blending perfectly with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot to create classy and complex wines.
The Pichon Longueville estate goes back to 1689. In 1850, Virginie de Pichon Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande, and her two sisters inherited three-fifths of the vineyard from their father. This took on the name of Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. In 1978, May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, daughter of Edouard Miailhe, in turn inherited this beautiful property and devoted herself entirely to continuing the tradition of quality wine. In 2007, Pichon Comtesse is purchased by Champagne Louis Roederer and joined the Roederer Collection. Since then, the independent family group has injected an innovative and ambitious spirit into this emblematic estate. From building modern technical installations to restructuring the vineyard, which is now grown 100% organically, every effort is made to help the terroir of Pichon Comtesse express itself serenely with power and elegance.
Just three families have been responsible for maintaining this wine's superb reputation for three centuries. The international reputation of this "Super Second" Growth can be attributed to unfailing quality and dynamic owners.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
The leader on the Left Bank in number of first growth classified producers within its boundaries, Pauillac has more than any of the other appellations, at three of the five. Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild border St. Estephe on its northern end and Chateau Latour is at Pauillac’s southern end, bordering St. Julien.
While the first growths are certainly some of the better producers of the Left Bank, today they often compete with some of the “lower ranked” producers (second, third, fourth, fifth growth) in quality and value. The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification that goes back to 1855. The finest chateaux in that year were judged on the basis of reputation and trading price; changes in rank since then have been miniscule at best. Today producers such as Chateau Pontet-Canet, Chateau Grand Puy-Lacoste, Chateau Lynch-Bages, among others (all fifth growth) offer some of the most outstanding wines in all of Bordeaux.
Defining characteristics of fine wines from Pauillac (i.e. Cabernet-based Bordeaux Blends) include inky and juicy blackcurrant, cedar or cigar box and plush or chalky tannins.
Layers of gravel in the Pauillac region are key to its wines’ character and quality. The layers offer excellent drainage in the relatively flat topography of the region allowing water to run off into “jalles” or streams, which subsequently flow off into the Gironde.