Au Revoir Comtesse de Lalande A short story on fine wine. Anabel de la Grange
Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse de Lalande
Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse de Lalande
is probably my favorite wine. A first-class second cru says one of my
friends. A superb Pauillac, I wish I could it drink every … week. I’d
settle for every week. This year I only had it twice. Once in Bordeaux,
and once in LA.
In Bordeaux, it was a bottle of 1986. Our host
said “profound bouquet of cedar, black currants, spicy oak, and
mineral.” I said nothing. We were four. The second bottle seemed even
better than the first.
The second time was in LA. We were having
dinner at a friend’s house, and the host asked my date to come with him
to his cellar and choose a wine for dinner. The two men came back with
a bottle in each hand and asked if I preferred 1995 or 1996
Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse de Lalande? At some $250 a bottle at your
friendly wine shop, somebody was trying to impress me. I simply
answered that the 1995 had more Merlot than the 1996, giving more
chocolate/cherry flavor to smooth the blackberry/cassis fruit of the
Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc and was therefore smoother than
the 1996, which should wait another 5 years.
During and after dinner the men spoke only about sports. But at least the wine was worthwhile.
Lalande is a women’s wine. Women have always been responsible for
the making of this unique wine and they’ve crafted it in their own
unique way. The first maker was the daughter of Pierre de Rozan who
brought the estate as a dowry to her husband Jacques de Pichon. That
was in 1694. Her descendant, Baron Joseph de Pichon-Longueville, died
in 1850, at the age of 100. He left his two sons Chateau
Pichon-Longueville and half of the vines and his three daughters
received the other part of the wine estate. Virginie, the youngest,
bought her sisters’ shares. From 1850 until 1882, she raised her estate
to the summit of excellence…and was happily married to Comte de
Lalande. In the 1920s, her descendants had to sell the estate to the
Miailhe brothers.
After the death of Edouard Miaille in 1978,
his daughter May Eliane inherited the estate. Neither her husband
General Herve de Lencquesaing nor she knew anything about grapes, vine
growing, and wine making. At 53, May Eliane de Lencquesaing went back
to school. The estate was in poor shape, but the wines were still
great. Immediately, Madame de Lencquesaing began traveling the world to
sell her wine.
In 2006, la Generale sold
Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse de Lalande to the Rozeau family group, also
owner of Champagne Roederer, for an estimated €180 million.
