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Vintage Wisdom: Opening ’85 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Why not? We all have too many wines that age but are never poured. This is a scandal. It’s wonderful to brag about how they’re aging gracefully under the dust, but is that why we buy and keep wine? To NOT drink it? And how do you know it is aging gracefully?
Our friends John and Dorothy at the WSJ have long campaigned for an “Open that bottle” day and recently our friend (and the Million Dollar Nose) Mr. P urged us to dig into old vintages too (easy for his cellar to say “Drink me”). But we all have a few we’re saving and saving and…
2005 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (Pauillac) - $149.99
So I looked at the Comtesse and I could swear I saw a wink. Born in the northern end of right bank in a very good year to a prestigious family (fractious too, given the sibling rivalry with the Baron). And stuck in my wine rack for 20 years. Time to comeout. Maybe past time?
Oh no, what a lovely wine, supple and strong with a tannic posture for a few more years. I decanted twice, with very little sediment, and then let it breathe in deeply. I was rewarded with a clear ruby color and a faint blue aura, a scent of almonds upfront and a delicate flavor of spices around a core of naturally sweet cherry, and a smooth endless finish. The most remarkable feature was the texture, almost silky. A wine in remarkable balance.
That night the Comtesse gave me profound reminders too. Pichon is and was a great winery; a Left Bank cab-merlot blend a lovely thing; while the strong survive, the delicate and elegant do too; 12.5 per cent is more than enough alcohol for longevity, And lastly, we do drink wine much too young, it is made to last. And 1985 was not so long ago – a good year for me too, I wrote my first wine stories that year.
That vintage is still available on a few auction sites for up to $200, but B-21 has both the 2004 ($79.99) and the killer 2005 ($149.99) on hand (good things do come in fives) and is selling 2008 futures.
Buy two and call me in 20 years.
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