1991 Château Pichon Lalande

45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot. Very small vintage (20-25% of the usual crop) due to the hard frost 21 Apr. Serious frost damage to new shoots. Slightly bricky rim but garnet core. Fresh and cedary but less fragrant than the 1996. A little sappy and nutty. Touch of undergrowth on the nose and comes through more on the palate. Dry, fine tannins, fully resolved and sweet. Some sweetness of undergrowth and red fruit. Just enough fruit to be in balance now but I wouldn't keep it much longer. Good for current drinking. Opens up to liquorice and cigar box and then some pure cassis comes as a surprise with a floral edge on the palate. Nice freshness but on the lighter side. (JH)

Pichon-Lalande's 1991 is among only a handful of 1991s worthy of being the "wine of the vintage." Only 30% of the harvest went into the final wine, resulting in a deeper-colored, richer, more concentrated, and complex wine than the 1990, which was atypically light - even for the elegant Pichon-Lalande style. The 1991, which possesses plenty of tannin, displays an opaque, deep ruby/purple color, and a sweet nose of chocolate, cedar, and ripe, plummy, blackcurrant fruit. Round, medium to full-bodied, and opulent (atypical for a 1991), this wine finishes with considerable length and authority. Drink it over the next 10-15 years. The 1991 Pichon-Lalande is one of the stars of the vintage!