Displaying a charmingly unfussy character to the blackberry and raspberry fruits, this has supple tannins that still have life and form to them, and is easily one of the best wines here. Rosebud and campfire smoke edge, and one of the few wines that give you a reason to buy this over the estate's other vintages, because it is that rare beast in the Médoc - a 100% Cabernet Sauvingon. I last tasted this wine two years ago, and this is an upscore (perhaps because I am tasting it as part of a horizontal not a vertical, and it stands out among its peers in the vintage). 13hl/h, Nicolas Glumineau's first year as director.
Tasted Feb 2022 - Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux

A fine and silky red with currant and lemon rind aromas and flavors. Medium bodied with a fresh finish. This shows some depth and interest for the vintage. Drink or hold.

The 2013 Pichon Lalande is one of the better wines of this very challenging vintage. There is lovely depth and intensity in the glass, within the context of the year. Scents of sweet tobacco, anise and dried cherry open up nicely. Slightly green, vegetal notes are impossible to look past in this small-scaled Pichon Lalande. Late-ripening varieties were favored in a year in which rot posed significant challenges in the field. Quite unusually, in 2013 Pichon Lalande is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the first vintage Nicolas Glumineau made at Pichon Lalande from start to finish.

The 2013 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, which as noted at the time of release is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, has a fragrant bouquet that, like the deuxième vin, has a pungent marine influence: seaweed and touches of cockle shell, nicely defined with blackberry and briary emerging more strongly with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity with grainy tannin. There is a slight rawness towards the finish that would have been addressed by the addition of Merlot, but there is respectable substance. It falls away quickly towards the finish but otherwise it is balanced and quite a distinctive Pichon Lalande. Drink over the next decade.

A rarity in terms of the final blend for a Pichon Lalande, the 2013 is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, which is an historic first at this estate. Only 33% of the crop made it into the final blend. New manager Nicolas Glumineau worked at Montrose until hired away by the owners, the Roederer Champagne house. Yields were absurdly low at 13 hectoliters per hectare. This hasn’t translated into a blockbuster, massive wine by any means. The vintage wouldn’t permit that. However, the 2013 Pichon Lalande shows attractive red and black currant fruit, hints of bay leaf and underbrush, soft tannins, medium body and a supple, charming, seductive character. I’d be hard-pressed to guess that this is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon based on how it smells and tastes, but it is. Drink it over the next 10-12 years.