Pichon Comtesse de Lalande scales a new height 

Her name was Virginie de Pichon Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande.  She was one of the Médoc’s most illustrious characters of the 19th century.  Her namesake wine is Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (AOC: Pauillac), commonly referred to as "Pichon Lalande".  Its peers in Pauillac appellation include such luminous names as Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, Latour, and Pichon Baron. 

It is considered a Super Second, wines classified in 1855 as Second Growths but can stand up to the quality of First Growths nowadays.  On the ground, a visitor to Pichon Lalande cannot fail to notice its other half (Pichon Baron) across D-2, the dirt road that cuts through legendary wine estates in Médoc.  (Background: Complex French laws on inheritance make the split of family estate among siblings a compulsory affair).  Pichon Baron ended up with more land, Pichon Lalande ended up with a one-of-a-kind next

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