Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

What the RVF says in its 2018 Guide: "Antoine-Marie Arena produced his first wines in 2014. Antoine Arena's youngest son has been working and making wine at the family estate for years. He now signs his own cuvées, taking charge of Hauts de Carco in white and Carco in red, and made his entry in the 2017 edition. The reading of the wines and the sensitivity of the new blended wines confirm the talent of this young winemaker. The coherence and depth of his wines are beyond doubt: we award him a well-deserved second star. The wines: they give a lot of emotion, show both precision and accuracy. Hauts de Carco has great purity, a powerful yet firm mouthfeel. Bianco Gentile is a model, with the maturity of this grape variety, without its drawbacks: full-bodied, it is well managed by bitters that reframe it. Bianchi, a blend of vermentino, biancu gentile and muscat, is subtle. It exhales notes of rose and cumin, and delights us with its harmonious mouthfeel, its quality length; for a lemon chicken. Carco, not very extracted and infused, is distinguished by its right substance and finesse. Memoria is chubbier and fuller, but retains the precision of the fruit and the quality of the tannins. Finally, San Giovanni, still very young, offers spicy nuances and a quality substance. It seduces by its dimension"

"Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, dans le giron depuis 2007 de la famille Rouzaud (champagnes Louis Roederer), le cru a ouvert il y a bientôt une décennie une nouvelle page de son histoire. Dirigé par Nicolas Glumineau, il s’est solidement relancé dans la course à l’excellence et retrouve le lustre qui était le sien dans les années 1980, grâce à la production d’une série de vins légendaires (1982, 1986, 1989).

 

Si la décennie 2000 fut moins réussie, les derniers millésimes, livrant un vin plus précis et plus droit, davantage marqué par le cabernet-sauvignon, sont bien au sommet et Pichon, doté d’un outil de vinification à la pointe, brille à nouveau au sommet de la hiérarchie." 3* RVF Guide