WTN/Wine Advisor: Getting older, getting better (88 Pichon Comtesse)

[Robin Garr]

Getting older, getting better

For those of us who usually devote our wine-buying strategy to seeking wines of good value at a price we can afford (and I certainly include myself among this number), there's a special sense of excitement that attends a very occasional spare-no-expense, take-no-prisoners blowout.

Next week, I'll mark the year's end with my usual wrapup of all the best-value "QPR" (Quality-Price Ratio) wines that I've enjoyed during 2007. Today, though, I'll ask your indulgence as I talk about our Christmas dinner wine, a rare excursion into a high-end, well-aged Bordeaux that would have run well into three figures if I hadn't been lucky enough to receive it a few years ago as a gift from a friend.

The wine was a top-rank Bordeaux from a very good vintage, <b>1988 Pichon Longueville "Comtesse de Lalande,"</b> a wine ranked in the Second Growth in the historic Médoc classification of 1855 but widely if informally described as a "Super Second," a second-tier Bordeaux considered worthy of competition with the five first growths including its near neighbor, Chateau Latour.

A tangled if typically French history of inheritance has sprouted a rather complicated family tree for Pichon Longueville. The estate was founded in the 1700s but was divided by inheritance in the 1800s in a will that divided the estate into two parts, one portion going to his son, the Baron of Pichon-Longueville ("Pichon-Longueville Baron," nowadays shortened to just-plain "Pichon-Longueville") and his three Countess sisters ("Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande"). Now both estates have moved into corporate hands, but the wines remain among Bordeaux's best.

Although Cabernet Sauvignon tends to dominate the wines of the Médoc, Comtesse de Lalande weaves a seductively silken fabric of 45 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 35 percent Merlot - the highest percentage of Merlot of any Pauillac estate - along with smaller contributions from Cabernet Franc (12 percent) and Petit Verdot (8 percent).

While 1988 doesn't rank among the absolute top vintages - it was a bit overshadowed by the more critically acclaimed 1989 and 1990 Bordeaux vintages - it was cetainly fine, a vineyard year in Bordeaux that started rainy but turned hot in midsummer and ended with a long, ripe harvest that lasted well into October.

This wine, cellared well until the last couple of years, then kept in "passive cellaring" under cool, dark conditions here, still seems on the uphill track, maturing, its youthful tannins softening, but showing little sign of age in its vibrant color and still-fresh fruit. Kept under excellent conditions, it should be good for at least another decade; but it was a mighty fine way to celebrate the holiday now.

<table border="0" align="right" width="155"><tr><td><img src="http://www.wineloverspage.com/graphics1/comt1224.jpg" border="1" align="right"></td></tr></table>Chateau Pichon Longueville 1988 "Comtesse de Lalande" Pauillac (Gift)

Very dark garnet in the glass, almost black all the way to the edge, where it's a clear violet with only a slight tinge of bronze. Classic Bordeaux scents of cedar and herbs, "lead pencil" and "cigar box" over blackcurrant fruit. Flavors are consistent, clean and fresh, tart blackcurrants and whiffs of fresh herbs. Medium body and tart acidity, still remarkably youthful, showing its maturity only insofar as the tannins have largely resolved, and there's a bit of gritty sediment in the bottom of the bottle, hardly worth decanting to remove. U.S. importer: Kobrand Corp., NYC. (Dec. 24, 2007)

<B>FOOD MATCH:</b> A classic pairing with dry-aged beef standing rib roast; simply prepared lamb is also a great match with fine, older Bordeaux.

<B>VALUE:</B> Turning up at auction in the $100 to $150 range, which curiously is about the same as the current U.S. retail for the 2005 Comtesse.

<B>WHEN TO DRINK:</B> As noted, this well-cellared 1988 is maturing but still on the youthful side 19 years after the vintage. Like most good classified growths of Bordeaux, it will keep and improve for 20 to 30 years or more, assuming a good vintage and careful storage conditions. The winery suggests this wine's plateau of maturity could last from 1997 through 2017.

<B>WEB LINK:</B>
You'll find in-depth information about the history of Chateau Pichon Longueville and its wines on the winery Website, which is published in French, English and Japanese. Here's the English-language home page:
http://www.pichon-lalande.com/uk/actuality/

<B>FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:</B>
To compare prices and find select vendors for Pichon Longueville 1988 "Comtesse de Lalande" on Wine-Searcher.com:
[url=http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/Pichon%2bComtesse/1988/-/USD/A?referring_site=WLP]http://www.wine-searcher.com/
find/Pichon%2bComtesse/1988/-/-/USD/A?referring_site=WLP[/url]

For Wine-Searcher.com's listings for all vintages of "Comtesse de Lalande," click:
[url=http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/Pichon%2bComtesse/-/-/USD/A?referring_site=WLP]http://www.wine-searcher.com/
find/Pichon%2bComtesse/-/-/-/USD/A?referring_site=WLP[/url]

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While 1988 doesn't rank among the absolute top vintages[...]

It does for some people...

I love Pichon-Lalande and the 88 is one of my favourites, so I'm happy to see your note. Unfortunately my bottle that I reported on fairly recently was a touch corked.

I always found it strange that the wine seems to smell like Cabernet Franc with its herbal and leafy notes, though there is so little of the grape in it.

-Otto

The estate was founded in the 1700s but was divided by inheritance in the 1800s in a will that divided the estate into two parts, one portion going to his son, the Baron of Pichon-Longueville ("Pichon-Longueville Baron," nowadays shortened to just-plain "Pichon-Longueville") and his three Countess sisters ("Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande").

Nicely written article, but couldn't you have mentioned that generally these wines are referred to as Pichon-Baron and Pichon-Lalande, respectively?

[Robin Garr]

couldn't you have mentioned that generally these wines are referred to as Pichon-Baron and Pichon-Lalande, respectively?

Dale, good point. My problem with that - and maybe I was just worrying too much about it - was that now that Pichon-Baron is being labeled in recent years as just-plain "Pichon-Longueville", it might be more confusing, not less.

Doesn't it say Chateau Pichon Longueville at top, and "au Baron de Pichon Longueville" in same font below? Maybe they changed in last couple vintages, but that's what I've seen. 2001 is latest I have.

And if you go into a decent wineshop and ask if they have Pichon Longueville, I'd bet 95+% the clerk will say "Lalande or Baron?"

I've never seen anyone get confused about Pichon-Lalande or Pichon-Baron, because neither secondary word is used on label of other. But Longueville is used in both, and if you say "Comtesse" there's a pretty good chance someone is going to think you mean Pichon-Lalande's second, Reserve de Comtesse.

I just think in US Bordeaux circles Pichon-Baron and Pichon-Lalande are the common (99%+ of the time) usage for both.

[Robin Garr]

I just think in US Bordeaux circles Pichon-Baron and Pichon-Lalande are the common (99%+ of the time) usage for both.

I expect you're right, Dale. As I said, I just got fixated on the current management de-emphasizing "Baron." I would have done better if I had thought less.

Excellent review, Robin.

I'll pile on regarding "Pichon Comtesse". The two Pichon Longueville estates have always been referred to in abbreviated form as Pichon-Baron and Pichon-Lalande. Even if Pichon Longueville-Baron de Piche Longueville has been referring to itself emphasizing the "Pichon Longueville", it has never used "Lalande". I therefore suggest that the traditional Pichon-Lalande abbreviated designation for the Pichon Longueville-Comtesse de Lalande is still appropriate and should be retained. Calling it "Pichon Comtesse" is more likely to add confusion to casual observers, rather than clarify.

Back when the wines were still in cask, I had to decide whether to pitch for 1988 or 1989 (I couldn't afford both). I bought the 1989. 1988 at the time was considered the "lesser" vintage. "Lesser" being very much relative--1988 IMO beats any vintage whose first three year digits are "199",
and whose fourth digit is not zero.

I'm glad to hear 1988 Pichon-Lalande has lived up to all its early promise. I only wish I had some.

So it's going at the same auction price as the 2005? Then either the 1988 is undervalued, or the 2005 is overvalued. Probably a little of each.

Salut,

-Paul W.

1988 IMO beats any vintage whose first three year digits are "199",and whose fourth digit is not zero..

Are you talking Bordeaux in general? I'd probably agree if benchmark is whole region. I love '96 Left Banks (especially P-Lalande), but the Right is considerably weaker, and '88 is probably more uniformly good.

So it's going at the same auction price as the 2005? Then either the 1988 is undervalued, or the 2005 is overvalued. Probably a little of each.

I think you're right.

Dale,

Talking about vintages is of course always talking about generalities.

Given the stocks of 198x Bordeaux in my cellar, I found the prices of the 1996s definitely off-putting. I'll live in the past, thank you, while I can.

I'll trust your opinion that 1996 Pichon-Lalande was up to the high standards set by the great vintages of the 1980s.

-Paul W.