#2015 pichon lalande full#

Only then was Nicolas confident that the perfect blend had been achieved. But then, pace Nicolas, the eureka moment, the moment when during yet another blend tasting, suddenly the tannins seemed so pure and so integrated that one could finally discern them all the way from the tip of the lips to the very back of the palate. Nicolas describes the minutiae of the process, every permutation rehearsed to try to get everything just right, then further fine tuning with the addition of press juice, which itself had already been segregated into batches.ДЄ complex and at times perplexing jigsaw. Nicolas aspired to keep cap of skins вЂњunctuous and moistвЂќ through remontage, вЂњimprisoningвЂќ the juice beneath the chapeau, and coaxing glycerol and polyphenols with soft persistence. In 2021 extraction had to be even more gentle than usual. In 2021, however, intense selection could not be avoided. Nicolas defers to the quality of the soil, generally flat, but complex of construction, its composition more and more granular and friable the deeper one goes, positively welcoming all the microbial activity that has come with the new viticultural regime. Yields were down by two-thirds to 15 hl/ha, the Merlot worst affected but all three varietals undergoing the necessity of ruthless selection. Hard work, for sure, but hard work which was very successfully negotiated. Nonetheless the conditions of 2021 added up to a serious challenge, especially during a period of strict viticultural transition. вЂњAt least we managed to avoid the frost here!вЂќ Nicolas jokes. There were also the challenges of coulure, especially with the Merlot. Nicolas describes the tall vines as a вЂњforestвЂќ the flowering has basked in exceptionally warm weather and all is set fair for 2022.ДЄ far cry from 12 months ago, a time of incessant rain, then humidity and then, of course, an encroachment of mildew. We are in late May and the flowering is almost complete. The sky is cloudy, the horizon broad and deep like a Ruisdael landscape. вЂњBut,вЂќ he adds вЂњas with any period of transition, the nerves are tested in a vintage such as 2021 вЂ¦ by the end of it I was mentally and physically exhausted.вЂќДЇrom the tasting room we can see the vines of both Pichons, of Latour and of Las Cases, beyond it the Gironde Estuary.

#2015 pichon lalande full#

вЂњThe Rouzaud family gave us full support and active encouragement,вЂќ Nicolas says, echoing similar words from Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon at Champagne Louis Roederer, which also falls under the Rouzaud umbrella. Each year 4ha (10 acres) of the 100ha (247-acre) estate is uprooted (usually Merlot) and slowly transformed to biodynamic viticulture, with selection massale Cabernet Sauvignon currently the favored varietal, a significant statement for a property long associated for the quality of its Merlots.

The vintage was the first to be farmed completely organically, with formal accreditation set for 2024, including nearly half of the vineyard under stricter biodynamic protocol. Bordeaux biodynamicsД«ack at Pichon Lalande (as the Anglophone market tends to call it) winemaker Nicolas Glumineau describes the struggles of 2021. Others, such as Beychevelle, are a little less subtle with their g rands projets. Pale neutral stone and the secrets of nearly 200 years, now interrupted by the traffic of the D2 and, latterly, by extensive building works at Pichon Baron.Дiscreet low-lying outbuildings are being transformed either side of the ChГўteau itself, the main task of architects in Bordeaux today, it seems, being to intervene as modestly as possible.ДЄt Pichon Baron the masons look set to succeed they have certainly succeeded thus across the road at Comtesse de Lalande, and elsewhere: Haut Bailly comes to mind immediately. Nicolas Glumineau has overseen a quite brilliant Pichon Lalande here.The Baron stares silently at the Countess. Whereas this Pauillac has a tendency to be more approachable than others, in fact, the 2015 has the backbone and substance to suggest that it will require a minimum of ten years' ageing, but patience will be amply rewarded. Together they give a sense of completeness to this Pichon Lalande that has semblances towards the great 1996. The palate is medium-bodied with edgy tannin on the entry, the Cabernet Sauvignon here in the driving seat despite that level of Merlot trying to get in a look. I noticed how it errs more towards black fruit with extended aeration. It has a very pure bouquet with expressive Merlot imparting black cherries and wild strawberry aromas that are embroidered with a thread of graphite. It includes 12.5% vin de presse (which incidentally was included in the blend). The 2015 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot that was picked from 10 September with the young Merlot, finishing on 9 October.