Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac 1855 2ième Cru 2022

As ever this stands out from the pack. Elegant, finessed, deep diving into bitter black chocolate, mandarin rind, liquorice bud, anis, fennel, crayon, graphite and slate, with opulent depths to the blackberry and damson fruit, so many textural components to the construction of the wine, clever winemaking, love the gentlest wash of clove spice on the finish that speaks to the conditions of the vintage without ever overpowering. Great stuff, this will age for many years, but no need to wait as long as with vintages such as 2016, even 2020 – I suggest five to eight years here.