Pauillac Second Growth with gravel over clay, Cabernet Sauvignon led wines, and a gravity fed cellar.
The producer
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a Second Grand Cru Classé in Pauillac, on deep gravel over clay beside the Gironde Estuary. Louis Roederer has owned the château since 2007, and Nicolas Glumineau has served as director since 2012. The main wine is Cabernet Sauvignon led, with Merlot bringing roundness and suppleness. Réserve de la Comtesse is the second wine, offering a more accessible and fruitier expression. A triple tiered cellar moves everything by gravity.
Known for
Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
Notable facts
A Second Grand Cru Classé in Bordeaux's 1855 classification.
Louis Roederer has owned the château since 2007.
The renovated cellar is triple tiered and moves everything by gravity.
Réserve de la Comtesse is the second wine.
The story
One Estate, Two Second Growths
Around 1850, the Pichon-Longueville estate was divided among heirs: the sons received the northern portion, which became Pichon Baron, and the daughters received the southern three-fifths. One daughter, Virginie de Pichon-Longueville, had married the Comte de Lalande, and the property took her title. Five years later, when Napoleon III's brokers sat down to rank Bordeaux's leading estates, they surveyed both halves of the original property and listed each separately — Baron to the north, Comtesse to the south, both ranked Deuxième Cru Classé. Two Second Growths came out of what had been one estate. The name pressed into the label today, Comtesse-de-Lalande, is the name that survived from the daughters' share of that division.
From the atlas
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
A Pauillac Second Growth on deep gravel over clay, with Cabernet Sauvignon led wines and a triple tiered gravity fed cellar.
At A Glance
Field
Detail
Classification
Second Grand Cru Classé
Appellation
Pauillac
Main grapes
Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
Second wine
Réserve de la Comtesse
Site
Deep gravel over clay beside the Gironde Estuary
The Producer
In 1686, Pierre de Mazure Rauzan was responsible for forming many Bordeaux estates. Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande later became a Second Grand Cru Classé in the 1855 Official Bordeaux Classification.
Louis Roederer has owned the château since 2007. Nicolas Glumineau has served as director since 2012. The estate combines classified Pauillac with a Cabernet Sauvignon led wine in which Merlot brings roundness and suppleness.
Place
Deep gravel lies over clay in Pauillac, on the banks of the Gironde Estuary. The gravel drains rainwater quickly, while the clay beneath retains more moisture for the roots. Pauillac therefore gives the estate a freely draining surface with a deeper water holding layer beneath it.
Wines
The château makes a Cabernet Sauvignon led red with Merlot. The Merlot contributes roundness and suppleness, while French oak ageing adds time and oxygen through 18 to 20 months in barrels, with 50% new oak.
The second wine, Réserve de la Comtesse, offers a more accessible and fruitier expression. The main wine has a long, fresh finish that typically extends beyond 50 seconds and usually needs 10 to 12 years of bottle age to fully develop.
Final Word
The estate's modern cellar is triple tiered, with everything moving by gravity after renovations carried out from 2008 to 2012.