TNs: 2002 Château Margaux, 1994 Pichon Longueville Comtesse and 1996 Pichon Longueville Baron

WINE TALK
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Drunk side by side at Charlie Bills restaurant, Wellington with lamb, with the bottles finished the next day with a roasted eggplant dinner:

1994 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Colour deep red. Lovely bouquet of a mature Bordeaux: some blackberry liqueur and cassis. Nose turning secondary and mellow: aromas of cigar box, spice, smoke, forest soil, fig and old leather. On palate, rounded tannins well integrated, resolved. Good structure, depth and concentration, but in balance, with a nice seamless texture. Turning secondary on the palate, tending mushroom and leather. Good length, elegant finish and feminine. Classic old style Claret, with mellowing, savoury flavours. I did not find any of the green notes or hollowness in mid palate that I have read about in some reviews. Improved on the second night - I would decant. At its peak now - drink soon. 93.

1996 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron
Colour near purple. Clearly riper, more primary aromas, bright red and black fruit, clear cassis, blackberries and black cherry, some iron, minerals, cedar and pencil shavings. Surprisingly primary on palate, quite intense. Excellent fruit weight, tannins visible, but very sleek and fine grained, with good acidity. Flavours of crème de cassis, blackberry and black currant, classic Pauillac. Persistent and fresh, medium bodied but powerful, quite masculine and long. Needs another 5-10 years to integrate, when it may get a higher score. A bit too primary now, so 92.

The two bottles served blind with most other tasters preferring the more elegant and mature Comtesse.

Drunk at a lunch at Stonyridge Vineyard restaurant, Waiheke Island with a duck course:

2002 Château Margaux
Deep red colour. Signature perfumed Margaux aromatics, an hour or so after opening. With florals (violets?), aromas of cassis, musk, Asian spice, black currant, warm earth, coffee, black tobacco and graphite. Nose just beginning to move secondary, quite charming. Quite pure on palate, very fine with silky, well integrated tannins. Acids present, but in balance. Medium bodied with, for me, sufficient mid palate weight, structure and power. In a lighter style than many Margaux (eg 1986), but not in any way too lean or acidic for my palate. Secondary flavours beginning to emerge, spicy and savoury, adding complexity and interest. Good length. Reaching its peak now but can be cellared medium term. I would decant another bottle. 94.

Stonyridge winemaker Martin Pickering admired the wine’s perfumed bouquet and commented that this was classic Bordeaux, at just the stage of development he liked to drink it.
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Hi Howard,

Nice notes. Know nothing about Bordeaux but it seems lesser vintages are drinking well.

Cheers Mike

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Hi Howard, nice wines, were they yours and how had they been cellared well? I have a few 1994’s which will keep a few more years. A bit of an “old fashioned” bdx vintage in a nice way for me. I have also had some nice 2002’s that were quite delicious.

Cheers Brodie

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Hi Brodie. I did not buy the Pichons on release. I would have bought them at auction but I’m not sure how long ago. As you probably know, the auction houses here are pretty careful about provenance and only allow vendors with good storage conditions to sell. I bought the Margaux from the Magnum Society, as it was a “spare” from a 2002 horizontal tasting, a few years ago, so it has always been stored in a refrigerated unit. While I have owned them, all three bottles have always been stored in a refrigerated wine locker.

BTW, Geoff K who you know, has no refrigerated storage, storing his large collection under his house, on the ground, since the 1980s. Just about all of the bottles of his I have tasted have been excellent.

And like you I like these old fashioned Bordeaux vintages, usually better than the modernist blockbusters.

Cheers, Howard

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Howard,

Fascinating to see your comments on these wines drunk as far away from Bordeaux as you can get.

Thanks,
Alex R.

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Mike how many times do I have to tell you, it’s not to late, I can help you. [snort.gif]

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I did buy a case of the '94 Lalande on release - one of the first full cases I ever bought along with the '90 Gruaud Larose in the mid 90s when this obsession first got me in its grip. The '94 Lalande has been the way you describe it (perfectly, by the way) for several years - just a lovely mature bottle of claret, the way it should be IMO.

If only Bdx were more versatile with food I would seek bottles like this out more often.

'96 is my favorite Lalande vintage, however, of the 8-10 or so I’ve had.