Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse-de-Lalande Pauillac Grand Cru Classé 2001

Pichon Lalande is often judged on its relationship to its namesake and opposite neighbour, Pichon Baron, and understandably so; what this overlooks (and we use the term carefully) is that Pichon Lalande adjoins the venerable terroir of Chateau Latour, arguably the finest piece of vineyard real estate on the Left Bank. From their stunning new glass-and-steel winery, one is afforded a vista that is virtually unmatched in Bordeaux – across several hectares of Cabernet and Merlot vines, straight onto the Gironde, via the hallowed house of Latour and its famous squat stone tower. This is no uneasy neighbour; at its best, Lalande stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the First Growths. If Pichon Baron boasts the power and masculinity of Latour, then Pichon Lalande sports its elegance, perfume, clarity of vineyard and sensual texture. Since Nicolas Glumineau took over the reins the estate has delivered a string of exceptional wines with the run from 2015 to 2019 as good as anything the estate has produced.