The 2018 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot with a pH of 3.85, an IPT (total polyphenol index) of 87 and 14% alcohol. The grand vin represents 50% of the crop this year. Deep garnet-purple colored, it charges out of the gate with bold scents of baked plums, ripe blackcurrants and wild blueberries, followed by hints of cedar chest, pencil lead, bouquet garni and charcuterie, plus a waft of lilacs. The medium-bodied palate is beautifully crafted with its seamless freshness and firm, grainy tannins supporting the compelling, finely knit black fruits and savory nuances, finishing on a lingering fragrant-earth note. This will need a good 5 years to come around and should easily cellar for another 30 years or more. Robert Parker
This famous estate at the southern end of Pauillac has produced a powerful wine. Packed blackberry fruits, laced with acidity, are just starting out on a long journey along with the tannins. The wine's elegance is beautifully preserved within the structure. With considerable potential, the wine should not be drunk before 2027. Wine Enthusiast
Offers a deep well of dark currant, blackberry paste and plum preserves fruit that needs time to unwind fully, as it’s shrouded in warm earth, tobacco, singed cedar, sweet bay leaf and savory notes. A ramrod of graphite adds to the strident, structured feel. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2030 through 2050. Wine Spectrator
The 2018 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande dazzles from the very first taste. A heady concoction of inky dark fruit, graphite, new leather, licorice, lavender, spice and grilled herbs soars out of the glass. The 2018 is rich and expansive yet retains a super-classic vertical feel. Plush, silky tannins add to its immeasurable pedigree. I would cellar the 2018 for a decade or so, if patience permits. It's a stellar wine in the making. Antonio Galloni
Sehr dunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Einladende schwarze Fruchtnuancen von Beeren und Kirschen, feine Edelholzanklänge, zart nach kandierten Orangenzesten, mineralische Aspekte, etwas Lakritze. Komplex, extraktsüß, reife Herzkirschen, reife, tragende Tannine, feine Süße auch im Abgang, ein eleganter Speisenwein, ausgestattet mit großer Länge und Harmonie, sicheres Entwicklungspotenzial. Falstaff
Lovely grilled and graphite notes right off the bat; this is big and muscular, and extremely Pauillac. There is grace here too, with raspberry purée, cassis, fig and blackberry fruits set against charcoal and fine tannins that quickly build up to suggest how well this will age. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 60% new oak used. 13% press wine. 3.75pH, 88IPT – higher even than the 80IPT in 2016. Drinking Window 2026 – 2038 Decanter
71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Deep ruby colour. Complex fruit on the nose, both ripe cassis but also more floral and lifted fruit and a hint of white pepper. The structure and depth of Cabernet Sauvignon drives the palate with fresh black fruits and bold but ripe tannins. Despite this mouth-coating richness the real drive behind this wine leaves the impression of depth rather than breadth. A profound wine with real ageing potential. Jancis Robinson
Kunz Fassprobe 19: (71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, 35 hl/ha, 14% vol. Alkohol) Samtenes, konzentriertes, frisches, komplexes, fein florales Bouquet, Cassis, schwarze Beeren, fein Pflaumen, schwarze Oliven, Schiefer, Graphit, schwarze Pralinen, Minze, Black Currant. Dichtverwobener, cremiger, kraftvoller, vielschichtiger, aromatischer, fein opulenter, eleganter Gaumen mit dichter, dunkler Frucht, sehr viel feinem Tannin, konzentrierter, kräftiger, vielfältiger, süsser Aromatik, konzentrierter Struktur, sehr langer, aromatischer, frischer, kräftiger Abgang mit kräftigen Rückaromen. Bordeaux Total
The 2018 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande is a monster of a wine with an almost Château Latour-like stature and structure, offering deep, backward, slightly reductive notes of blackcurrants, crushed stone, scorched earth, lead pencil shavings, and tobacco leaf. Based largely on Cabernet Sauvignon mixed with 23% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, it's full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful on the palate, with masses of tannins, beautiful mid-palate density, and a great finish. As I've commented previously, the up-front, sexy style of the past (due to the larger Merlot content, I believe) has been replaced by a more regal, at times austere profile. Nevertheless, it's still its own wine and very Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in style. This 2018 is going to need 5-7 years of bottle age and will evolve for 40+ years. Jeb Dunnuck
Aromas of blackberry, dried blueberry, gravel, mocha and cigar box. Light fresh-herb undertone. It’s full-bodied with firm, ultra fine tannins and fresh acidity. Focused and minerally with a long finish. Great length. Very tight and restrained at the moment. Wait until at least 2026 to take a look. James Suckling
71 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 23 % Merlot, 5 % Cabernet Franc, 1 % Petit Verdot, 35 hl/ha, 60 % Grand Vin. Undurchsichtiges Purpur mit schwarzer Mitte und violettem Rand. Ein zartes Parfüm nach Wildkirschen und Veilchen sowie Nougatpralinen. Im zweiten Ansatz Lakritze, Cassis und Heidelbeeren. Am kräftigen Gaumen mit cremiger Textur, perfekt ausgereiften Tanninen und süssem Extrakt, unglaubliche Eleganz aufweisend, dann packt dieses Finessenpaket zu. Im katapultartigen, langanhaltenden Finale mit blauen Beeren, stützender Mineralik, Graphit, endet mit edlen Bitternoten, die dem Wein eine gewisse Arroganz verleihen. Ein grandioser Pauillac, der auch in diesem Jahr zum Besten in der Appellation gehört! Für Nicolas Glumineau ist der 2018er eine Kombination aus 1989, 2010 und 2016. Wird in der perfekten Genussreife die Maximalnote erreichen. Weinwisser