2016 Réserve de la Comtesse- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (7/16/2019)
– decanted immediately before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over three hours –
NOSE: blackberry jam; medium oak; nice little savory streak; smells like it will have good acidity on the palate; hint of spearmint after a couple hours open.
BODY: medium to medium-full bodied; dark garnet-violet color of great depth.
TASTE: medium+ acidity; clean (no brett); fruity — dark fruits; medium+ concentration of fruit; some very fine tannins; hint of earthiness; no pronounced pencil shavings; medium-light oak — not worried about this moving into the future; approachable already; well-proportioned — not overblown; great right now, if you like young Bordeaux; I bet this ages nicely up to 20 yo; great QPR @$44; very good pairing with steak, caramelized onions, and mushrooms — surprisingly good with the onions; improved with 2.5 hours of air, as it developed more of a “classic” presentation; pretty serious for a 2nd wine, and certainly better than many others’ Grand Vin. Drink Now through 2036. Ashley gut impressions: happy to pay $50; score: 91. Brian gut impression score: 91 – 93.
I just drank one of these and found it very enjoyable. I’m not sure if it’s $50 enjoyable as an early drinker, as there are a bunch of $15-30 Bdx that are quite good (especially a lot of no-name Pessacs). We had a 2016 Bellegrave (also Pauillac and around $30) along with this. Quality-wise it’s a toss-up. The Comtesse has more of the herbal PLL thing and the Bellegrave is a bit more classic Pauillac with lead pencil and walnuts.
Anyone have experience aging Reseve de la Comtesse?
hmmmmm … I’ll have to try the Bellegrave. For my preferences, the only Bdx. that is cheaper (current release) that I think is better is Cantemerle, and that’s really a toss-up. Obviously, my opinion is only re: the wines I’ve had. FWIW, wines with “an herbal thing” tend to appeal to me, so there’s one of my biases.
I’m not sure those cheaper wines are better, in fact most are surely not. It’s more about what I would spend for near term drinking. I suspect the Reserve ages well, though. PLL is one of my favorite Bdx so I have no issue with the flavor profile.
I went through a case of the 1996 RdC from release to about age ten, when it started to lose a bit of its joyous fruit. I always thought that was an amazing effort, both for the grand and the 2nd. I used to compare it the 96 Sociando Mallet and 96 Potensacs which were also purchased in case lots at the same time. S-M started coming into its drinkability as the RdC faded and continues to run strongly. The Potensac took even longer to come around, staying cool and lean, until maybe age 15.
My feel on the 2000 RdC was that it was kind of disappointing, and after trying a few bottles, I got rid of it. Other years were ‘ok’ but nothing really sang like the 96.
As much as people rave about the 82 Pichon Lalande, don’t miss the 86 and 96, which are also incredible examples. I just wish the wines weren’t so popular/pricey now!
NOSE: medium+ expressiveness, and fairly complex: mostly purple-fruited, with hints of black cherry and musky leather; a touch high-toned; light oak; “dark”; savory; not bretty, and just flat-out good!
BODY: dark violet color of great depth; medium bodied.
TASTE: oooh! … very impressive second; dark-fruited (blackberry); alc. not noticeable; fine light tannins well-balanced by medium to medium+ acidity. Medium weight ---- this really speaks of the vintage, and it’s decidedly not a modern/gloopy monster. This is excellent, although not truly exciting — everything is just in perfect place and in perfect proportion. Not yet at peak, but I bet it gets there in the next decade. I can only imagine how good Lalande must be in this vintage…
I assume the constituents of the RdC have changed in the last 20 years as the new owners reduced the percentage of merlot and replaced it with cabernet sauvignon, so extrapolating from wines of the 90s or early 2000s may be questionable.
I couldn’t find info on the cepage of the RdC on a quick search, but Jeff Leve said this in his tasting notes on the '16:
Medium bodied, forward, polished and fruity, the wine is silky, fresh and inviting. This is a new challenger in the quality race for the top second wine in Bordeaux. This year’s blend is unique with all the Petit Verdot from the vineyard and more Cabernet Franc than usual.
Just to make it more confusing it’s now Pichon Comtesse Réserve, I think since 2017. I really like the 14 and 16, especially the latter, and was very impressed by the 19. It certainly ages well too. My gut feeling is that it’s about the same quality as a wine like Pedesclaux. I keep meaning to try some together to find out!
One of my favorite second wines! And I also recently had the 2016, lovely wine. Just wish they kept the label with the Comtesse (in more recent vintages, a blander label that resembles that of the first wine).