Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a little reticent to begin, slowly giving way to notions of warm black cherries, blackcurrant cordial, stewed plums and sautéed herbs with hints of damp soil, tobacco and beef drippings. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with tightly wound black fruit and earthy layers, framed by ripe, fine-grained tannins and lovely freshness making for a long, lively finish. Classic!

Luscious and rich ruby colour, powerfully enticing aromatics, a ton of dark cassis and blueberry fruits, this is great quality, juicy with oyster shell salinity that pulses through the mid palate. Tobacco and campfire on the finish, this is approaching its drinking window but in no rush. Sylvie Cazes director at the time.

Roederer Estates had owned Pichon Comtesse for three years prior to the 2009 vintage, having taken over in 2006, with Gildas d'Ollone as managing director and Thomas Do-Chi-Nam as technical director. Together, they created a stunning, lyrical 2009 that just begs to be savoured. It’s ripe and intense, rippling with juicy blackberry and blackcurrant fruit and touches of violet on the nose. A beautifully balanced wine.
Tasted by Jane Anson (at Decanter Premium Tasting, New York, 25 Feb 2019)
Part of Anson: Pauillac vs Pomerol

The 2009 Pichon Lalande is ripe and decidedly flamboyant from the very first taste. Dense and voluptuous in the glass, with serious richness, the 2009 is also almost shockingly tannic. It won’t be ready to drink anytime soon, and yet, there is so much to look forward to. The warm, dry conditions yielded a dense, exotic Pichon Lalande, but there is serious structure beneath all of the fruit.

In the same qualitative ballpark as the 2010, if not a step up, the 2009 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande nevertheless offers more immediate pleasure and opulence, with a gorgeous perfume of blackcurrants, lead pencil, unsmoked tobacco, truffle, and spice box. A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, this full-bodied, round, mouth-filling Pauillac has sweet tannins, beautiful mid-palate depth, and a great finish. It needs an hour or two in a decant today to drink brilliantly and will unquestionably evolve gracefully for another 20-25 years.

Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a little reticent to begin, slowly giving way to notions of warm black cherries, blackcurrant cordial, stewed plums and sautéed herbs with hints of damp soil, tobacco and beef drippings. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with tightly wound black fruit and earthy layers, framed by ripe, fine-grained tannins and lovely freshness making for a long, lively finish. Classic! - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, March 2019

95 - A beautiful effort, the 2009 Pichon Lalande, a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, possesses copious mocha, lead pencil, unsmoked, high class tobacco, black currant, forest floor and herbaceous characteristics. It is a deep purple-hued, charming, surprisingly open-knit Pauillac with wonderful freshness, a plump, fleshy mouthfeel, opulence and unctuosity, medium to full body and a well-delineated, luscious style. More elegant than its nearby neighbor, Pichon Longueville Baron, and not as massive in concentration and extract, it is one of the great Pichon Lalandes of the last twenty years.

Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #199, Feb 2012)

(a blend of 75% cabernet sauvignon, 20% merlot and 5% petit verdot; 13% alcohol; pH 3.79; 70 IPT; 50% new oak) Purple-ruby color. Initially reticent nose hints at minerals and blackcurrant, then opens to reveal spicy strawberry, violet and cedar. Quite dense yet suave on entry, with harmonious acids nicely framing the captivating blackcurrant, plum and cedar flavors. Conveys an impressive sense of depth and brooding power, yet remains remarkably light on its feet and easy to drink. Very silky wine, with polished tannins offering considerable structure and support to the ripe fruit flavors on the extremely long finish. An utterly seamless wine yet very serious wine that will offer considerable early drinking appeal but needs time to reveal all of its considerable potential. Pichon-Lalande has long been one of my favorite wines of Bordeaux but I've been unimpressed by many recent vintages, so I am very happy to report that the '09 is not just the best wine here in recent memory, but probably one of the best of all time.

Dark red. Sexy aromas of redcurrant, smoke, mocha, espresso and tobacco, with darker berry notes emerging as the wine opens in the glass. Rich, lush and seamless but not yet filled in, with its berry flavors complicated by earth and herb elements. Not the last word in concentration, but this sexy Pauillac is sweet, shapely and remarkably accessible today. Finishes long, suave and palate-coating, with perfumed red berry flavor and an obvious chocolatey quality from the merlot component.

The 2009 Pichon-Lalande offers copious scents of boysenberry, cassis and blue fruit on the nose, a little smudged compared to the Pichon Baron but very pure. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, very rounded in the mouth thanks to the precocious Merlot content, sage and orange rind developing towards the caressing finish. A very sensual Pichon-Lalande, tempting. A great wine although the 2010 has the upper hand. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits' Ten Year On tasting. - vinous.com, March 2019

Quality 833 | Brand 992 | Economics 903 |
Quality: Above the average quality score of its peer group for the 2009 vintage, 788 Brand: Strong restaurant presence, featuring on 36 of the world's top wine lists, including Amber - Mandarin Oriental Economics: Below its peer group average price of £116 for the 2009 vintage Production: Lower production than its peer group average of 151,058 bottles

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017

[75CS 20M 5PV] rich blackcurrant Cabernet nose; nicely but not excessively concentrated middleweight, generous, fleshy, fresh; a very fine grained tannin round an abundantly, juicily, freshly ripe blackcurrant fruit; long, velvety, gracious and subtly mouthcoating, with a fine gravel scent behind the ripe fruit, and great length on the finish - as in the best of these wines an extraordinary fruit length alongside the aromas. Tasty yet restrained splendour. 2020-35+

Transparent crimson. Notably mineral/stony nose, then mouth-filling without being too sweet – just. Still a little tannin underneath. A please-all wine though perhaps less ambitious than Pichon Baron across the road. (JR)