TN: 1988 Chteau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

[DavidG]

• 1988 Chteau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Mdoc, Pauillac (1/29/2009)
  Cork soaked through, but fill within 1/2" of cork. Dark red with bricking at rim. Complex mature nose of cassis, cherry, leather, cigar box, tar, forest floor. Medium body, good balance, complexity follows through to palate, sweet mature fruit, tannins resolved, thins a bit on mid/back palate but finishes nicely. Fully mature. Classic Bordeaux. Excellent.

Posted from CellarTracker

[DavidG]

Hmm, the accented characters don't seem to come through from CT...

[cellartracker]

David, what browser are you using?

[DavidG]

Eric - MSIE 7.0.6000.16764

[cellartracker]

OK, it should be fixed now.

[jal]

I love this wine, thanks for the note, David.

Could it be that 1988 was the last year for the classical left bank Bordeaux? It seems that the wines have turned more concentrated in subsequent years.

[Michael McNamara]

I had a bottle of this wine about a year ago.My tasting note was very similar to yours.I also had a bottle of the 1983 six months ago that was showing great.

Regards,Mike

[Otto Nieminen]

Jacques, I've seen a couple '94s shaping up like the '88s in past couple years, but generally I agree that '88 is the last great, classic year.

I love the Lalande in '88, thanks for the note David!

[JimHow]

I remember Joe Belmaati's group did a huge tasting of 1988s a few years back and they were really wowed by the overall quality of the vintage. I've always loved 1988 Bordeaux.

[cellartracker]

I had one of these about 2 years ago that was OK but underwhelming. Sounds like your provenance and experience was a LOT better!

• 1988 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (2/23/2007)
  Seattle Tasting Group does Pauillac (Seattle, WA): A nice nose, much like the 1985, stalk and tobacco. The palate is much less interesting though, limp, short, a bit tired. (86 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

[DavidG]

This has been sitting in my temp-controlled cellar since release. The cork was soaked through and cruddy on the surface, but there was no ullage. That was a pop/pour note - it actually got a little longer on the palate after an hour or two. RP says this is getting old - I have to disagree.