A standout second wine with serious pedigree, the 2019 vintage offers polish, structure, and depth. Aromas of blackberry, cassis, cherry, rose petals, and subtle chocolate lead into a medium- to full-bodied palate. Seamlessly balanced with fine tannins, lively acidity, and a refined finish featuring notes of hazelnut and spice. Deep, serious, and almost first-growth quality, this wine reflects the estate's ongoing evolution under Nicolas Glumineau.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 93
Published: Jan 19, 2022

A pretty red with blackberry, cherry and currant. Some chocolate and walnut, too. It’s medium-bodied with integrated tannins and a polished finish. Hazelnut at the end. Drink after 2024.

Decanter | D 93
Published: May 25, 2020
Drink: 2024-2038

This is well structured and approaches 2010 in terms of its weight and depth of fruit. Deep spiced damson on the nose, you would be hard pressed not to say that this is as good as very many Cru Bourgeois 1st wines. Huge depth, similar to the 2018 but a little higher acidity, a little less round, a little more classic Pauillac in character. This is confident and serious with lots of tannins. A great 2nd wine, and a reminder of the consistently successful winemaking that is happening at this estate.

The Wine Advocate | RP 91
Published: Apr 7, 2022
Drink: 2021-2041

The 2019 Resèrve de la Comtesse is striking, soaring from the glass with scents of violets and rose petals mingled with cassis and dark berries. Medium to full-bodied, polished and succulent, it’s lively and seamless, with impressive concentration and a long, penetrating finish. 

Since joining Pichon Lalande just after the 2012 harvest, Nicolas Glumineau has made a number of changes. In the vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon is increasingly displacing Merlot; the soils are worked less frequently and cover crops are employed; canopy management has evolved, with both fruiting canes now trained in the same direction—Glumineau would like to trail pruning "Guyot simple" if Pauillac's cahier de charges (appellation rules) permitted it; and 27 hectares of the estate's 102 are being farmed organically. A new, highly functional winery and cellar equips him with stainless steel tronconic tanks adapted to parcel-by-parcel vinification. Cooperage choices, too, have been refined (some 65% new oak is the order of the day), and the duration of élevage has been extended to 18-19 months in barrel before racking to tank before bottling. The result? Even as Cabernet Sauvignon occupies a more and more important place in the blend, Pichon Lalande has never been more seamless and sensual, exhibiting a degree of structural refinement combined with remarkable complexity and depth of flavor. The 2019 has turned out brilliantly, and readers will have a hard time choosing whether 2019 or 2016 is the greatest vintage of the decade at this address: I've hedged my bets and bought both.