The history of this estate began in 1686, when Pierre de Mazure Rauzan, rich merchant and bourgeois of Bordeaux, bought parcels of vines near the seigniory of Latour and created a vineyard, the Enclos Rauzan. A little later, his daughter receives it as a dowry for his marriage to Jacques François de Pichon Longueville, President of the Parliament of Bordeaux. Thus begins the story of one of the largest vineyards in Bordeaux, kept in the same family for more than 250 years. In 1855, the quality of the wines is rewarded because the property reaches the rank of Second Cru Classé. In those same 1850s, Virginie Comtesse de Lalande took the lead of the estate and commissioned the Bordeaux architect Duphot for a house inspired by the Hôtel de Lalande in Bordeaux where her husband had spent his childhood. Her passion for the vineyard as well as the quality of her management make her a remarkable personality who will leave the domain an imprint attached to her name. Unfortunately, after his death, began difficult years marked by a vineyard devastated by powdery mildew, fraud, then the Great War that dealt a fatal blow to the wine economy. The price of wine is inexorably going down, barely covering operating costs. The heirs of the Countess must then resolve to sell the vineyard and the owners who will follow will thus contribute to the revival of the vineyard. In 2007, the Champagne House Louis Roederer ensured the good continuity of this property which became, since the 1950s, one of the most renowned vintages in the region. Réserve de la Comtesse is thus the second wine of the property, it was created and put on the market for the first time in 1973. On the other hand, the first symbols of second wines of the Castle appeared around 1870.
A vineyard replanting program has also been launched, favoring a better match between the grape variety, its respect of the nature and of the soil. Cabernet Sauvignon , Merlot , Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot: the variety and proportion of Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is unique in the appellation. The property remains faithful to the tradition of harvest by hand: every year more than 100 people pick the grapes according to the degree of maturity and the age of the plots: the Merlot, early variety, inaugurates the harvest and the Cabernet with Petit Verdot , late varieties, close them. The vatting time varies from 18 to 24 days depending on the year.
