95pts Wine Independant

In 2008 the blend for Pichon Lalande was 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. It has a deep garnet-brick color and rocks up with ready-to-go scents of warm cassis, boysenberry preserves, and baked plums, plus hints of spice cake, Sichuan pepper, and cigar box. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant and refreshing with fine-grained tannins and understated black fruit and savory layers, finishing long and minerally. It is drinking wonderfully now, in that sweet spot between fruitiness and maturity, however, it still has a good 15-20 years+ of cellaring potential.

92pts James Suckling

A young wine with a solid core of fruit and toasted oak, with hints of chocolate and cedar. Full and silky, with a lovely texture and a long, fruity finish. Lots going on here. Solid and integrated. All there. Give it three to four years of bottle age.

94pts Wine Enthusiast

Stylish wine, balanced, intensely elegant. It has freshness and also weight, encased in a structure that is poised, beautifully integrating black currant fruit and chocolate flavors.

Tasting Notes

Firm, but sweet tannins (which suggests ideal maturity) characterize this 2008. Displaying good minerality along with plenty of floral, creme de cassis, blackberry, coffee, and white chocolate notes, this full-bodied, dense, promising Pauillac is built to age for 20-25 years.