1989 Pichon Comtesse

[DavidG]

I don’t often post TNs, but this one was exceptional.

1989 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (4/8/2026)
A recent purchase, base neck fill is encouraging but a fully soaked cork with some external dried residue has me a bit concerned. Not to worry…

Dark ruby red, minimal lightening at rim. Gorgeous nose right out of the gate. Classic cassis, moist earth, cedar, tobacco, and hints of fresh mown grass and iodine. Medium-full body, beautiful balance, resolved tannins, nice dose of dark fruits to mix with plenty of aged complexity. Medium-long finish. Classic ‘80s era Bordeaux, this is drinking exceptionally well now, on what should be a prolonged plateau given the ample remaining fruit. Outstanding.

[JCNorthway]

Glad it was such a lovely wine for you, David. And I'm pleased that you think it has some life remaining because I have a mag of the 1989, and I've been waiting for the right opportunity to open it.

[DavidG]

Jon, I bet your mag would be terrific anytime from now to 20 years from now.

[Comte Flaneur]

Thanks for the evocative note David. A wine I regret never owning, and the end of a golden era for Pichon Lalande which started in 1978. It is noteworthy that you judge this wine to have a prolonged plateau from here, which is encouraging. I had the 1983 about six weeks ago, and based on that bottle and some previous ones too, the 1983 definitely needs drinking up.

[DavidG]

Ian, the tannins are resolved, but there is enough fruit and acid to go the distance as long as the cork holds up. Then again, it doesn’t take much fruit to make me happy. As long as there’s some to set off the complexity towards the end.

[Comte Flaneur]

We opened one of these after returning from France on Thursday. We matched it up again a 1989 Mouton after a bottle of 2009 DP

The Chateau Pichon Lalande 1989 was a recent auction purchase in the US and looked in pristine condition. The nose was a huge turn on, with some of the trademark Comtessa burnt raspberries permeating the nostrils. A really promising start, but the palate surprisingly didn’t really follow through as convincingly as I expected, and while this was an elegant and enjoyable mature Pauillac it didn’t quite deliver as I was expecting/hoping. We agreed that it was a 95 point nose and a 91 point palate. I see that I rated this a lot higher in 2016 when my note indicated a shy nose and a convincing palate, and a significantly higher overall score, but you just have to judge each bottle on its own merits. This time 93 pts.

Every bottle from my case of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1989 has been thrilling, but this time I thought we might be ‘sh1t out of luck’. The nose initially was surprisingly subdued, which immediately made me fear that this bottle might be corked. But I think the reason for this was because both bottles were effectively popped and poured after standing vertical for a week. The Mouton soon got its act together and then some. Last night it showed a more serious brooding side to its personality after the gregariousness and fireworks of previous bottles, which were no more than medium bodied but ever so alive and energetic. This built and built relentlessly, leaving the Pichon trailing in its wake, with the finest pure Cabernet fruit and notes of wintergreen, spices and freshly ground coffee beans. Such precision and purity, such class…96 pts

Bottles, and all that...

[JCNorthway]

That Mouton sounds like what you always hope for with bottles of that pedigree. But too bad the Pichon Lalande was a bit of a letdown.

[DavidG]

Thanks for the notes. I agree with Jon, two thumbs up for the Mouton, sorry the Comtesse wasn’t everything hoped for.