Château Pichon Comtesse: Vineyards
The vineyards of Château Pichon Comtesse amount to 90 hectares, mostly in the commune of Pauillac although there are also some in St Julien, and as recently as 1959 there were some bottles labelled with the Pauillac appellation and others with the St Julien appellation (the wine, apparently, was the same regardless). A major acquisition was made in the late 1960s with the purchase of 10 hectares of Pauillac vines situated between parcels which belonged to Château Pichon Baron, Château Latour, Château Batailley and Château Haut-Bages-Libéral, whereas another 5 hectares came to the estate when they were purchased by Michel Delon during his relatively brief stewardship.
Under the tenure of May-Eliane Lencquesaing the vineyard continued this expansion, from an area of about 55 hectares at the time she took control, up to the size it is today.
Of note, as I have already alluded to in my profile, the vines are mostly not directly associated with the château. There are a couple of tiny parcels directly touching the château and cellars, just on the north side, otherwise everything you see to the east belongs to Château Latour, while everything you see to the west belongs to Château Pichon Baron.
The major part of the vineyard (not all of which is planted – see further down the page for more details) is situated to the west of the Château Pichon Baron vineyard, well to the west of the château and the D2 which runs through the village. This is an important fact if trying to understand Château Pichon Comtesse; the château may overlook the Gironde, but the vines do not. Lying west of the vineyard of Château Pichon Baron places the Pichon Comtesse vines some way inland; travel directly south from them into the commune of St Julien and, once you have passed through the Pichon Comtesse vines lying on this side of the border you will find yourself in the vineyards of Clos du Marquis and then, if you continue south, Château Talbot.
This only makes the high quality of the wines made at Château Pichon Comtesse by Nicolas Glumineau (pictured below) all the more remarkable.
