1999 Château Pichon Longueville Comtésse de Lalande (Ex-Château & Reconditioned)
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Tasting notes
The 1999 Pichon-Lalande has an attractive bouquet of raspberry, wild strawberry and light floral scents, although it is missing the mineralité and terroir expression of the best vintages (including the 2016 that I tasted alongside). The palate is rounded on the entry, with supple tannin, gentle grip and a note of licorice infusing the red fruit. There is a pastille-like quality to this 1999, although my criticism is that at 20 years of age it is missing the essence of Comtesse. Balanced, but does not have much to say. Tasted from an ex- château bottle at the estate.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Dark crimson. Dense and sweet and rich with a little bit of dust. Not as refreshing as Les Forts tasted just beforehand but much more dramatic and successful than most 1999s. Long and sweet. (JR)
Deep crimson. Very subtle, exciting, intriguing nose. Lovely waft of ripe fruit at the start of the palate. Really elegant. Only medium weight with tannins packed into the trunk as needed on the journey. Bravo! (JR)