1982 Château Pichon Longueville Comtésse de Lalande
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The 1982 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande has a justifiably lofty reputation and this bottle is evidence that it has lost hardly any of its allure. Backward, almost surly on the nose at first, it opens gloriously with intense blackberry and blueberry fruit, pressed violet and background scents of a marshy estuary. Stunning delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with more sapidity than I recall, beautifully structured and so velvety smooth that you do not notice the depth of this Pauillac. Almost sensual on the finish, this continues to cruise at a high altitude. Tasted single blind at the 1982 dinner at Corus in London.
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
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A great example of a word-of-mouth hit, the 1982 Pichon Comtesse has built its reputation by delivering time and time again, giving the First Growths a run for their money with its cigar box and pencil lead Pauillac signature and the caressing ripe fruits of a great quality vintage. I have tasted this every two years for the past six years, and each time I have expected it to be past its peak, and each time it has proved me wrong. You get plenty of tertiary flavours, certainly, with truffles and rose petals, together with exotic dried spices of turmeric and cumin and barely-there tannins. Got to be the best value of the wines tasted in this 1982 horizontal, even though it has risen in price over the past 5 years. May-Eliane de Lencquesaing owner at the time, having stepped up to take over her family estate in 1978. Yield 40hl/h, harvest 16-30 September.
Several years ago, I purchased a case of the 1982 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande from a frigid Alsatian cellar where it had lain undisturbed since release, and from these bottles, it continues to very much merit a three-digit score. One of the most flamboyant, sensual wines of the vintage, it offers up a sweet bouquet of blackcurrants and blackberries mingled with notions of orange rind, violets, licorice and pipe tobacco. Full-bodied, supple and enveloping, with melting tannins, ripe acids and a long, cedar-inflected finish, it continues to deliver magical drinking. Having drunk the 1982 six or seven times this year, however, I am forced to concede that bottles that show this level of vibrancy and flare aren't so easy to find, so now is a great time to start pulling corks in earnest. This may not prove to be the very longest-lived wine of the vintage, but its star certainly did burn bright!
The 1982 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a benchmark vintage for the estate, although I have not encountered a perfect bottle for around 20 years, when I believe the wine was at its height. Still, this is a lovely Pauillac with plush black and blue fruit on the nose, like before, almost Margaux-like in terms of its crushed violet component. The palate is ripe and rich on the entry thanks to the contribution of the Merlot, yet there is such panache and swagger that you instantly fall for its charm. Melted tar and pencil shavings on the very persistent finish. Just a very very gorgeous wine. Tasted at the 1982 Dinner at Hatched.