| Region of Production: | Pauillac AOP |
| Winery Location: | Pauillac |
| Year Established: | 1850 |
| Classification: | second growth, Médoc 1855 |
Vineyard Holdings
89 ha
- 61% Cabernet Sauvignon
- 32% Merlot
- 4% Cabernet Franc
- 3% Petit Verdot
Top Wines Produced & Inaugural Vintages
- Château Pichon-Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande
- Réserve de la Comtesse: Inaugural vintage 1973.
Average Total Production
- 430,000 bottles (Up to 50% of the production may be the second wine.)
Summary
Formally the Château Pichon-Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande but commonly abbreviated as Château Pichon-Lalande, this cumbersomely named estate is widely regarded as a “Super Second” of the Médoc.
Pichon-Lalande was born in 1850 with the death of Joseph de Pichon-Longueville and the subsequent division of the original Pichon property into two separate estates: Pichon-Baron and Pichon-Lalande. The Pichon-Lalande château and its 42 hectares of vines he bequeathed to his three daughters. Virginie, the Comtesse de Lalande, took control of the siblings’ shared property and formally separated management of the two winemaking estates in 1860. It remained with this branch of the Longuevilles until 1926 when the property was unloaded to the Miailhe family, a prominent clan in the Bordeaux wine business. Three successive generations of Miailhes managed the property—the last, May-Élaine de Lencquesaing, inherited the estate in 1978, restored the château, and presided over an era of accomplished winemaking. Her children would not, however, follow in the family business, and she sold a majority stake in the château to Champagne Roederer in 2006. Today it is under the management of Sylvie Cazes, sister of Jean-Michel Cazes. (See Lynch-Bages for further information on the Cazes family.)
The château property is adjacent to Château Latour, and Pichon-Lalande’s vineyards spread southward along—and across—the Saint-Julien commune boundary, near Léoville-Las-Cases. 9 ha of vines are actually in Saint-Julien AOC, but the winery has received dispensation to include the fruit in its Pauillac wines. (Prior to 1959, the winery bottled a separate Saint-Julien.)
Style & Vinification Techniques
The most striking element of the Château Pichon-Lalande grand vin is its high percentage of Merlot. One-third of the blend is Merlot—a large component for a classified growth in the Médoc and the highest proportion of Merlot for any Pauillac AOC grand vin. The high proportion of Merlot is cause for the winery to employ less new oak than most upper-echelon Médoc châteaux; only one-half of the oak used for the top wine is new each year.
Producer Website: Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande