Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 2012

Producer Information

The estate was founded in 1689 by Pierre de Mazure de Rauzan and the vineyard acquired its name a few years later when his daughter Thérèse received it as part of her dowry on her marriage to Jacques de Pichon Longueville, the first President of the Parliament of Bordeaux. It was divided upon the death of Baron Joseph in 1850 between his five children. However, only two of his children finally inherited the vineyards; Raoul and Virginie. Virginie married Count Henri de Lalande, giving her the title, and took over control of the domain. Her passion and the quality of her management made her a strong personality in the Médoc and she very much left her mark on the domain. In the 1855 classification, Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande acquired the status of 2eme Cru Classé.

Vineyards

The 75 hectares (185 acres) of this vineyard border the property of Château Latour and stretch south of Pauillac towards the Commune of Saint Julien, whence it gets its extraordinary charm. The exceptional character of the wines produced here, are distinguished by their elegance and finesse.

Winemaking

The temperatures were carefully regulated during the fermentation and the maceration to obtain an aromatic and silky expression of the vintage. Overall, the alcohol-tannin-acid balance was excellent. Malolactic fermentation was minimal due to low temperatures. Maceration: 18 to 24 days.

Vintage Information

After a dry winter with a cold spell at the end of February, growth started relatively early for the region, towards the end of March.

Spring was characterised by alternating periods of cold and mild weather, and was generally very wet. These conditions continued into mid-July. Flowering was difficult, with the rain and cool temperatures causing flower abortion and uneven grape size, especially in the Merlot. The latter part of the summer saw a severe dry spell with heat waves in August causing significant sun-scalding on some bunches. Fortunately, the last week of September was rainy, enabling the grapes to finish ripening in satisfactory conditions. So overall a difficult vintage for which the quality of work in the vineyard and the quality of the terroir were essential factors in obtaining a good level of ripeness.

Tasting Note

Opaquely purple in colour, the nose is loaded with floral, cassis, boysenberry, earth, olive and tobacco notes. Powerful, graceful, sensuous, rich, fresh, it is unusually full-bodied for a wine from this estate. It is pure, refined and offers silky, velvet textures.

Food Pairing

Lamb, red meats, cheese, truffle and chocolate.

Serving Suggestion

Serve at room temperature.

AOC Pauillac, Bordeaux
59% Cabernet Sauvignon
28% Merlot
8% Cabernet Franc
5% Petit Verdot

Natural Cork
13.5%
No
No

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