ROBERT PARKER - THE WINE ADVOCATE: "A blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc (with no Petit Verdot this year), the 2019 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande came in at an alcohol of 14.15% and a pH of 3.7. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it sails out of the glass with a stunning array of Black Forest cake, warm cassis and wild blueberries scents with underlying hints of Morello cherries, redcurrant jelly, pencil shavings, menthol and aniseed with a touch of charcoal. The medium-bodied palate packs a lot of fruit into an elegant package, featuring very finely grained, silt-like tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long with loads of lingering mineral and exotic spice accents. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown"

DECANTER: "A serious, muscled Pichon Comtesse that grabs you from the first nose. The width and texture is evident, feeling both more plush and supple in its fruit character. It´s elegant and balanced but packed full of textured raspberries, blueberries and cassis, juicy, with a rise on the finish and clear tannic grip. Very Pauillac in style, more so than the 2018 with great length. Not as structured as the 2016 or the 2010 but not far off and this is easily one of the wines of the vintage. Its heft shares some similarities to its neighbour Latour, which is not always the case in this most feminine of Pauillac wines. Closes down pretty quickly on the finish, suggesting the initial rich fruit is a hint of what is to come but that it will take its time to show itself in bottle. Tasted twice, four weeks apart and it delivered both times. No Petit Verdot in this vintage. - Jane Anson"

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, dezente Randaufhellung. Mit feinen Gewürznuancen unterlegte schwarze Kirschfrucht, zart nach Lakritze und Cassis, ein Hauch von Edelholz, einladendes Bukett. Saftig, elegant, extraktsüßer Kern, reife, tragende Tannine, feines Nougat im Abgang, hochelegant und mit großer Länge ausgestattet, ein seidiger Pauillac-Stil, mit Frische und Finesse wird nicht gegeizt, ein Hauch von frischen Feigen im Nachhall. - Peter Moser"