2005 CHATEAU PICHON LONGUEVILLE COMTESSE DE LA LANDE

Love the colour of this, deep damson, generous and enticing. The tannins are just astonishingly finessed and generous, chocolate, cedar, cocoa bean, so well constructed, combining depth to the fruit with feather-pillow tannins. Clearly young, decades ahead of it, but this is already confident and enjoyable, effortlessly standing out from this lineup of exceptional wines. It lacks the weight and concentration of the 2009 or 2010 of Comtesse, but it's showing extremely well, and seems to be gaining in power. 50% new oak.

This 2005 is a strange beast at the moment, and I've found it alternately open and closed in recent tasting. All of the elements are here - fine abundant tannins, gorgeously succulent and balanced black fruits, layers of nuanced personality, a complex mix of freshly cut herbs, dried herbs, black fruit, crushed stone and slate minerality. It's brilliant, but it needs longer, incredible to say and it is not yet knitted together even after 16 years. I am recommending this, but with the warning that right now you can find 2005s even at the top levels that are more perfectly in balance. Let's revisit in a few years. 3.67ph, harvest September 20 to October 7.

The 2005 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a wine from the château's less brilliant period. In this tasting, it is dark, heavy and clumsy. All that said, the 2005 has aged relatively well, there is just not much complexity to speak of. Muted, unfocused aromatics and dull fruit are penalizing. It is truly remarkable to see how much the Pichon Comtesse has progressed since this wine was made.