TN: 2002 Pichon Lalande

Two bottles over two days. The first was a woody, inchoate mess that quickly went down the drain. The second, a largely fruitless
and generally flavorless disappointment.

That’s unfortunate. I’ve had several bottles and have found them to be quite good (and consistent).

Well, that’s disappointing. I have 2 bottles someplace. Wonder which I’ll get; inchoate mess or fruitless disappointment

Bottle in January was excellent.

Well, I’ve got one more–I’ll cross my fingers. My other 2002s–Mouton Rothschild, Margaux, LLC, SHL–all have been fine.

We had our last two a few years ago and they were very good. Not great, but very enjoyable.

Thanks,
Ed

Pontet Canet was impressive but tightly wound back in 2010, certainly not lacking in fruit. I’m still sitting on a single bottle of Leoville Barton, but I’ve heard very favorable reviews.

We had a solid one maybe last year, or the year before, but it got a long decant, which I think helped.

Sorry to hear that cellaring didn’t work out for those two examples. I honestly think that happens more often than we like to admit, and we all try to explain it away by thinking we did something wrong - storage, dirty stems, decanting, TCA, etc.

Wow, that bad? Bad bunch perhaps?

Too bad Randy. Did you give them time after opening to see if they opened up? I have had Bordeaux that were horrible when opened and magnificent an hour later, but most of these have been a good bit older.

What a shame.

I gave the first one about three hours, Howard, and it just got worse. The second one got to stay in the refrigerator overnight, but this didn’t improve things.

Too bad.

newhere You mean 2002 was not the vintage of the decade? newhere

For newbie you have a lot of posts, haha.

Joking aside, good point. How does this compare to other 02s.

Lascombes 2002 is wonderful.

Missing the joke. Who said it was?

  • 2002 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (3/17/2018)
    From a 375. Deep ruby, clear, only hints of bricking but overall youthful color; moderately aromatic, blackberry, but more strongly notable for some bell pepper, slight green, balanced and elegant nose; palate is full bodied, well integrated primary black fruit, tannins are present and youthful but approachable, medium-plus acidity; medium finish. Classic bordeaux, notable elegance and balance that I expect from Pichon Comtesse, not a blockbuster given the slight lack of robust fruit in the midpalate and at the end of the finish, but it has enough complexity and depth in the nose and palate to hold its own. Youthful, enjoyable, promising, but falls short of the best vintages. 90-91+ (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

My experience is consistent with the other positive views on this thread: enjoyable, but won’t ever be great. Still, glad I have a few more halves.

It was a vintage in which Baron ran rings around Comtessa, like 2005 (and 1990 back in the day)…Comtessa was less consistent and more patchy than her rival across the road in the 2000s (noughties), which I think partly explains the huge investment that has gone in over the last ten years. Nothing like playing second fiddle to your rival to incentivise an improvement.

When was PLL sold?

It would appear that “Frédéric Rouzaud, the patriarch of the Champagne Roederer group, purchased Pichon Lalande in 2007. A totally new cellar outfitted with modern equipment was in place for the 2013 harvest. Further investments continue throughout the property.”

Courtesy of Vinous;

And the next time you are both in NYC, maybe we should do a battle of the Pichon’s in true BWE style spanning several decades so that we don’t miss out on anything :wink: