2020 Château Pichon Longuevile Comtesse de Lalande

JD98-100 The 2020 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is another brilliant wine in a succession of brilliant wines…it’s an incredible wine that’s going to flirt with perfection and is unquestionably one of the finest, if not the finest, Left Banks in the vintage” – Jed Dunnuck May 2021

VIN95-97 The 2020 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is holding so much in reserve. Tightly wound and not fully expressive, the 2020 is going to need at least a few years to come out of its shell. Bright acids and persistent tannins give the 2020 a super classic, mid-weight feel. I very much like the wine’s persistence. Readers will have to be patient with the 2020. The exuberance of some recent vintages is not present today. The blend is 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, which means a touch more Cabernet Sauvignon than in recent years, and quite a bit more than in the past. Harvest ran from September 7 to October 1, which is about ten days earlier than normal. In the cellar, Estate Manager Nicolas Glumineau opted for light extractions, with minimal pumpovers of just one volume of wine per day, at no more than 25 degrees Celsius. Time on the skins was 21 days, pretty much the norm these days. Tasted two times.