I assume this is a scam? I can’t find anything good about institutionwine.com but here (supposedly) is the '15 for $35 for a .375: https://www.institutionwine.com/products/2293545
Sorry for the thread drift, but how do these compare to 2009/2010?
Somewhat late to this party, but I recently attended a K&L-hosted dinner that featured PL among others, and had a chat about shift away from Merlot with someone from the chateau. They were the first to bring it up (we were tasting the 1996 and 2006), and as Jeff mentions, cited the suitability of the terroir and maybe climate change (my recollection is fuzzy on this point - there was a lot of excellent bdx served) as key drivers of the decision. I personally find this new balance they’re able to strike between “masculine” and “feminine” traits to be quite appealing 
The problem is that the “Merlot should be grown on clay” argument risks becoming circular. Old vine Merlot on gravel is / was utterly stellar at Pichon Lalande, Palmer and elsewhere, yet that is somehow insufficient empirical grounds to continue growing Merlot on gravel because of the a priori that those are terroirs suited to Cabernet. That reductionist tendency to put theoretical a prioris before the results of long standing experience is, for me, the hallmark of modern Bordelais enology.
Amen.
Maybe there are some practical viticultural reasons that help justify merlot=clay (less stress, less work, etc.), but it sure is risky to break a formula that worked for decades to produce one of the world’s greatest wines when we can’t know how the new cepage and elevage decisions will turn out for another 20+ years of time in the cellar. Cab must=gravel sure sounds like dogma given what we’ve seen merlot on gravel can do.
William, using that logic, vineyards could have maintained their old vine Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere as well.
FWIW, the Cabernet Sauvignon that is in the clay at Pichon Lalande is being replaced by Merlot. IMO, both changes, placing the best varietal in the right terroir for each grape is the best long-term strategy. IMO, and I think the view is shared by the majority of long-time Bordeaux tasters, the wines coming from Pichon Lalande today are better than previous vintages. And I expect things will continue to improve as the vines age.
Something else to consider, the large percentage of Merlot at Pichon Lalande is a semi-recent phenomenon, which did not start taking place until some point in the late 1920’s.
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They have been mentioned repeatedly now. Do not buy.
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That doesn’t tell us anything without knowing how the wines were before and after the '20s. Does anyone here have any experience with pre-1920s PLLs?
In any event, since phylloxera wiped out the Bordeaux vineyards in the late 1800s and changed the mix of grapes (so long carmenere and malbec!), whatever the cepage was in the early 1900s was relatively new and somewhat experimental. It may be that, a couple of decades after replanting with grafted wines, PLL’s owners concluded that merlot really did better there than the alternatives.
Perhaps I’m unduly conservative, but I would settle for remakes of the 1929, 1961 and 1982 with all that inappropriately planted Merlot.
Choices were available, they could have replanted what was there, pre-phylloxera. They made the change to better the wines.
Merlot was planted at Pichon Lalande and other estates by the owner who was looking for higher-yield, early ripening varieties to increase profits. And the owner at the time, frankly, simply liked Merlot. They did the same thing at the other vineyards they owned in Bordeaux at the time. This was not just for Pichon Lalande.
For a few of the active posters I am chatting with in this thread… Perhaps, instead of stating, "But the wines were so good with the wrong varietal planted in the terroir, you might want to consider the opposite view, “Think of how great the wines will be, when the best grapes for the terroir are planted in the vineyards?” Grab a bottle of the 2016 when it hits the stores in your area.
I don’t think that’s true. Malbec and carmenere didn’t graft well, for instance. Carmenere wasn’t so widely planted, but malbec was popular because it resisted oidium/powdery mildew, which struck Bordeaux a few decades before phylloxera.
Interesting. Who were the owners and the other properties?
Some of the most memorable Bordeaux I’ve ever had were PLLs from the 70s and 80s, and they had a unique flavor profile. I don’t really see improving on those. They were very special. And, as William K said, Palmer also seemed to benefit from a high portion of merlot.
Perhaps you prefer wines with more cabernet, but some of us were captivated by those where the merlot showed through.
Yes, what John said, it’s hard to top perfection or something close to it. The 79, 80, 82, 83, 86 and 89 are some of the very best wines I’ve ever had. Maybe the 2016 will be as good as those someday or even slightly better, but we won’t know for a long time.
It was the Miailhe family, who owned Siran and were part-owners of Palmer. So yes, they certainly liked Merlot; and between Palmer and Pichon Lalande they made quite a compelling case for what Merlot could do in the Médoc.
I believe that the old vine Merlot at Pichon was ripped up in the mid-1990s, which might explain why there was a bit of a qualitative blip for a decade or so thereafter, excepting the 1996 in its singular style.
At the end of the day, cépage defines the character of a wine. I’m sure you could make excellent Viognier in Le Montrachet, but I would prefer it stayed planted to Chardonnay. Similarly, while contemporary Pichon Lalande vintages are among the best in their class, I regret that the cépagement has changed and that the character is different, though they are indeed lovely wines.
They still own Siran, having purchased it in 1858, which is planted to 45% Merlot. They also own Chateau Coufran in the Haut Medoc, which is planted to 85% Merlot.
“I think Pichon Lalande is having a run. 2016 might be the best of the last 4 vintages ( 13-16 ). Even 2013 as a Cabernet only Vintage is great for the year but 2016 might be the best of the last three decades. Not as hedonistic as 1982 but surely as good as you could wish for. Bought halves, standard, Magna and DMGs fearing that the bigger Formats will please only our daughter as they most probably will outlive me. But winecellaring should be a multigeneration project”
Rainer Guntermann
100/100 by A. Galloni
“Nicolas Glumineau and his team made an epic, unforgettable Grand Vin in 2016.”
_2016 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
The 2016 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is every bit as regal as it has always been. Towering and spectacularly rich in the glass, the 2016 captures every ounce of potential is showed from barrel. The 2016 is a vivid, dramatically sweeping wine that will leave readers week at the knees. Beams of tannin give the 2016 soaring intensity that is matched by a host of aromas and flavors that open up in the glass. Blackberry jam, graphite, spice, menthol, licorice, pencil shavings and spice are all finely sketched in a bold, savory Pauillac that hits all the right notes. The 2016 Pichon Comtesse has been riveting on each of the four occasions I have tasted it from barrel thus far, makin_g it easily one of the wines of the vintage. Nicolas Glumineu and his team turned out an epic Pichon Comtesse in 2016. Don’t miss it![/i]
Cabernet sauvignon likes global warming (better ripening), last vintages seem very good, global warming brings higher alcohol degree all things equal (especially with Merlot).
I don’t know what is right but I will leave it to the owners who seem to know their job.
Agree with Antoine. Global warming an important part of the story. I love the PLL wines in the 1980’s, including the underloved 1981 and especially the 1989. I’m not sure you could recreate those wines today in the context of warming temperatures, because they relied on the blend of fully ripe merlot and just slightly underripe Cabernet. With the tremendous winemaking techniques that are now available, plus greater microanalysis of individual plots (sometimes down to the row or even half row), Cabernet is the right choice in an era of warming.
The issue with a wine like 2016 seems to be time. You can buy it or the 1989 with nearly the same money, and the 1989 is just now ready to drink. The 2016 could easily be a 50-year wine.
Agree with the above except that the 2000 Lalande is a bit of a throwback to the wines if the ‘80s.
Last night, I was at a dinner organized by my friend Panos at the French Embassy of the wines of Chateau Léoville Poyferré where Sara Lecompte-Cuvelier of Château Léoville Poyferré that one reason people are uprooting Merlot is that with climate change Merlot is getting to too high sugar levels too early. She said that even a number of St. Emilion estates are uprooting some of their Merlot and planting Cabernet Franc instead. Anyone else familiar with this.