2009 Pichon Comtesse
Buying options
Tasting notes
More youthful in appearance versus the 2003 tasted alongside, the 2006 Pichon Contesse is dark and powerful, with immediate, intense black fruit – cherry, plum and blackberry, with a dusting of dark cocoa powder alongside cigar humidor and a whisper of smoke and violets. Subtle sousbois balances the sweetness of ripe fruit, cedar and nutmeg. The nose carries through to the palate with pleasant freshness, balance and length, held by fine, persistent tannins. More broad-shouldered than 2009, but with a deftness that belies the vintage.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Wine Spectator
More reviews and scores
What a great nose of blackberries, currants and spices. Hints of fresh herbs. Full body, with ultra-fine tannins and lovely fruit. Such finesse and beauty. Wonderful to taste. Reminds me of the legendary 1982. Try in 2018. James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
Wow. This has an incredible complexity on the nose of currant, spice, mineral and flowers. Full-bodied, with a great density of fruit and tannins, yet polished and beautiful. This could be the new 1982 from here. Made from 75 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 20 percent Merlot and 5 percent Petit Verdot
Tasted at the château and at the UGC. A limpid deep purple colour. This has a very fragrant nose, not quite as well defined as Pichon Baron, but very elegant and graceful with blackberry, raspberry leaf, pencil lead, graphite and wild hedgerow. Very pure and feminine. Second bottle at the UGC is actually better...much more precision here, the high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon (75%) really showing through. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, very compact, not as expansive as other wines, much more conservative than I was expecting, but very graceful with an unerring sense of symmetry. I cannot help feeling that the wine would benefit from a greater percentage of Merlot, especially on the finish, but over time is does expand in the glass, becoming more and more supple, with a sense of Cabernet invoked authority on the finish. This should coalesce beautifully by time of bottling. Tasted March 2010
About the producer
Ch. Pichon Comtesse is one of the stars of Pauillac, and one of the original "Super Seconds" in Bordeaux. Classed as a Deuxième Cru Classé in the 1855 Bordeaux classification, it is widely recognised that Pichon Comtesse can not only match First Growths, but occasionally outperform them.