1998 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac 1,5 l
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Tasting notes
The 1998 Pichon Lalande has a fragrant bouquet with blackberry, wild hedgerow and cedar aromas, although personally I was expecting a little more fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, a more savory style of Pichon Lalande with sage, white pepper and a noticeable undergrowth note towards the dry, quite masculine finish. Perhaps I was hoping for more fruit intensity and vigour here at 20 years of age? Certainly this is no patch against the 1996 Pichon-Lalande. Tasted at the château.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, no Petit Verdot. First wine showing some age at the rim, just a little pinky brick around the garnet. Intensely cedary nose. Leafy verging on green and a note of spring blossom, herbal. Dry, tight and somewhere between taut and elegant. Chalky tannins, fresh and moreish, lacks the richness of earlier vintages tasted but quite refined. Cassis leaf on the palate, classic cigar box. (JH)
Aromas of tobacco smoke, cedar, cherries, and black currants emerge from the moderately intense, complex bouquet. This wine has evolved nicely, revealing less austerity than it did last year in its medium-weight, delicate personality. Drink it over the next 15-16 years.