2021 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Pauillac 0,75 l

A blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Merlot, that spent 18 months in 60% new oak (there’s also 13% press wine in the blend), the 2021 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande reveals a vivid purple hue to go with beautiful aromatics of pure cassis, violets, spring flowers, spicy oak, and graphite, with a beautiful sense of minerality with time in the glass. Playing in the medium-bodied end of the spectrum, it has a seamless, layered mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, no hard edges, and a pure, layered style that shines in the vintage. It's already impossible to resist but I see no reason it shouldn’t evolve for two decades.

Just as I found from barrel, the 2021 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is stubborn on the nose at first, opening with a few swirls of the glass to reveal blackberry, cassis and light juniper aromas. The oak here is beautifully integrated. The palate is classical in style, the Cabernet patently in the driving seat—as you would expect, given it constitutes 88% of the blend. I really admire the finish on this ’21, as it appears to have gained delineation, mineralité and a little more persistence on the finish. This is an impressive Pauillac, brimming with freshness and character. Whilst it might be predestined to be overshadowed by surrounding vintages, best not to ignore this gem.