“When I arrived, we reached a strategic decision to make considerably less Pichon Baron than before,” explained Christian Seely, managing director at AXA Millésimes, which owns the estate. Left to right at the estate: Pierre Montégut, who has taken over from Matignon, Christian Seely and Jean-René / ©Château Pichon Baron Of 72 hectares owned by the estate today, the first wine is made primarily from older vines growing on a prized 40-hectare plateau of gravel beds with poor soils that force vines to go deep into the ground. Over his tenure, he and his team blazed a trail to make powerful Pauillac wine with refinement, increasing the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blends, reducing the percentage of the grand vin while increasing the new oak.
#Chateau pichon longueville 2005 professional#
In my experience as a journalist and wine events organizer, I came to admire Jean-René as both a professional and kind man, who exudes passion and love for wine. On two occasions earlier this century, Jean-René joined me for “winemaker dinners” that I had organized in German cities and in Washington D.C., where participants appreciated his affability and informative feedback when they posed questions. We also enjoyed magnums of 19 over lunch (of course pre-dating Jean-René’s arrival at Pichon Baron).ĭespite some off bottles, the global high quality experienced testifies not only to the excellence of the terroir, but also to the talent of Jean-René and his team. On May 24th this year, the estate invited me to join a special Au Revoir tasting and lunch featuring vintages spanning Jean-René’s career with the château. Some 16 years later, tasting the 2006 at Château Pichon Longueville Baron in a vertical of 37 vintages, the wine tasted as one might have expected: not as good as the 2005, but pretty good, proving the point that excellent terroir from an estate like Château Pichon Longueville Baron can shine over time, even in a less than “great” vintage. “This could have been as good as 2005,” he said regretfully. I recall the disappointment in Jean-René Matignon’s face as rain started falling towards the end of the 2006 harvest. The international reputation of this "Super Second" Growth can be attributed to unfailing quality and dynamic owners.By Panos Kakaviatos for Traditional methods and modern technology combine to make the most of the estate's prestigious soil. The unusual choice of grape varieties (there is a much higher percentage of Merlot than average) is a partial explanation for this wine's outstanding personality, marked by elegance, balance and finesse. Bordering on Château Latour, Second Growth Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is located in the southern part of Pauillac, near Saint-Julien. Just two families have been responsible for maintaining this wine's superb reputation for three centuries. In 1978, May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, daughter of Edouard Miailhe, in turn inherited this beautiful property and devoted herself entirely to continuing the tradition of quality wine. This took on the name of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. In 1850, Virginie de Pichon Longueville, Countess de Lalande, and her two sisters inherited three-fifths of the vineyard from their father. The Pichon Longueville estate goes back to 1688-1689.
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