Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1986

A great Pauillac red wine with a delicate complexity

The estate

The magnificent Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Pauillac Second Grand Cru Classé, shines in the Pauillac appellation.

It was in 1925 that the Miailhe family, in the guise of Édouard and Louis Miailhe, acquired this property on Bordeaux’s Left Bank. May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, daughter of Edouard Miailhe, is an emblematic figure of the Gironde wine industry. She managed Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse from 1978 to 2007, when the Rouzaud family, owners of the Louis Roederer Champagne House, acquired the estate.

The vineyard

A major name among Pauillac wines, Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande oversees a vineyard located near the Gironde estuary and rests on soils made up of gravel hilltops on clay-sandy subsoils.

The vintage

April, with its cold and rainy conditions, delayed budburst, then gave way to a hot and dry May and June. The flowering was even. July was hot and dry. Although September was particularly rainy (between 15 and 23), the weather thereafter was warm, sunny and dry until the end of the harvest, which took place between October 2 and 15.

Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon (45%)
Merlot (35%)
Cabernet Franc (12%)
Petit Verdot (8%)

Characteristics and tasting tips for Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1986

Tasting

This vintage, counted among the best of the 1980s, delights with its subtle combination of power and finesse.