19 Rene Gabriel
Sattes, dunkles Weinrot. Würziges, konzentriertes Bouquet, viel Zedern, schwarzer Pfeffer, erste Öffnung und einen grossen Pauillac zeigend. Er wirkt offener als die Magnumflaschen, welche wir am Tag zuvor verkosteten. Im Gaumen stoffig, feinfleischig und eng gegliedert mit sehr eleganten Tanninen, gut balanciert und sensationelle Anlagen für die kommenden Jahre aufzeigend. Die erste Reife kann man vermuten und ist zeitnah zu erleben, das generelle Potential reicht für gut 30 Jahre. 19/20 beginnen
97 Robert Parker
The 1996 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is really beginning to drink with style, wafting from the glass with an inviting nose of blackberries, cassis, cherries, rich soil tones, Cuban cigar and subtle hints of mint and bergamot. Medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with an expansive, sumptuous core of fruit that's underpinned by ripe acids and ripe, powdery virile tannins, it concludes with a long, penetrating and sapid finish. This unusually Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated vintage was tightly wound for its first two decades, but as time passes it's the château signature that's dominating the cépagement. It's one of the wines of the vintage in 1996.
92 Wine Spectator
Wonderful perfumes of blackberry, Indian spice and eucalyptus. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and firm tannins. Needs some time to loosen up.--'95/'96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2008. ?JS