| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
This great 73 hectare vineyard has been producing top class Pauillac since the late 1980's when Jean-Michel Cazes of Lynch Bages took control and re-vitalised the property. In recent years, under the ownership of AXA insurance, Englishman Christian Seely has been in charge and quality continues to rise. The vineyard is planted with 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The grand vin is now made only from fruit produced in the original vineyard that is opposite Latour and next to Lascases. Latour-like in style, Pichon Baron has been a star performer in our recent blind vintage tastings. Two second labels are now produced - Les Griffons (from the younger vines) and Les Tourelles de Longueville (from a specific parcel of mostly Merlot vines). A regular winner of our blind tastings and a classic of the appellation.
The 2019 Pichon-Longueville Baron will go down as one of this château's great wines of the modern era, along with 2016, 2010 and 1989. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of cassis and plums mingled with notions of cigar wrapper, sweet loamy soil and violets, it's full-bodied, velvety and layered, with superb concentration, lively acids and rich, powdery tannins. Perfumed and resonant, this is a profound young Pauillac that bears more of a resemblance to its neighbor Château Latour than to Pichon Lalande this year. Pichon Baron was one of the great deals of the en primeur campaign, and readers who purchased futures are to be congratulated on their foresight. Drink Date 2029 - 2065
The 2019 Pichon Baron is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it charges out of the gate with energetic notes of blackcurrant cordial, juicy blackberries, and licorice, followed by hints of tar, raspberry leaves, and rose oil. The rich, seductive, medium to full-bodied palate is jam packed with black fruit preserves layers, supported by firm grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and layered.
The 2019 Pichon Baron is quite closed on the nose, blackberry, bilberry and incense, with graphite and cedar developing with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, not quite as finessed as Pichon Baron, but with great structure and density on the close. It needs a little more precision to develop on the finish but just give it time. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drink 2026 - 2060
87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot. Saturated purple colour. Very youthful and tight on the nose, this is pure in blackcurrant fruit. With air, there is a little creamy vanilla coming throuhg, but this is focused and pure for now. This follows on the palate, which is pristine and driven by cassis. The tannins are tightly wound, creating moutchoating but fine structure. One of the sleepers of the vintage, the expansive and very long finish suggests a great future. Give it at least 10 years in bottle before approaching.
Blackberries and blueberries with stone and graphite. Flint and black licorice, too. So perfumed. Full-bodied, very long and linear with incredible length. The new 1990, but better crafted. Chewy, yet so tailored and wonderfully proportioned. Freshness and elegance. Wonderful depth. 87% cabernet sauvignon rest merlot. The highest ever proportion of cabernet. Try after 2026.
Highest proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon on record, a reflection of how exceptionally well this grape did in 2019 in the gravel-heavy soils of Pauillac. The aromatics are all-enveloping, powerful and naunced and totally delicious, drawing you in and refusing to let go. Slate, pencil lead, charcoal, cassis, damson, layer upon layer of brilliance. Rivalling the incredible concentration and enveloping character of the 2016, this is a Pichon Baron that is full of confidence, and should not be missed. 80% new oak, 49% of total production. Drink 2029-2048.
Tasted blind. Dark, brooding colour. High-toned perfume. Concentration and drama. Lots of tannin. Needs lots of time but should be rewarding eventually. A little bitter on the end. Neat and tight. Polished tea leaves with freshness on the end. Long and subtle with savoury notes. Impressive and well composed. 14.5%
Drink 2028– 2042
87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot.
Black almost to the rim. Rich, dark and charry on the nose. Really charry. And yet still has a cassis fragrance. So dark and compact yet it has that lovely stony/rocky finesse, also dark, to bring elegance and finesse. Very dry, finely textured. Elegance in embryo. (JH) 14.5%
Drink 2030 – 2050
The 2019 is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot and will be aged in 80% new French oak for 18 months. Very deep, saturated purple in colour. The nose is initially reticent, with brooding cassis, cedar and tobacco. With air this unfurls and shows more exotic, ripe and brambly fruits. The palate is very dense and linear at this stage, a very vertical wine with superb depth of blackcurrant fruit. The tannins are powerful and grippy, but ripe. This wine will need time in the bottle but will be long-lived. The layers build on the finish, showing hints of vanilla, nutmeg and clove. Incredibly long and intense on a driven, pure and harmonious finish.
Based on 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot raised in 80% new French oak, the 2019 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron is pure class and just a beautiful, seamless Pauillac that does everything right. Revealing a deep purple hue as well textbook notes of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, freshly sharpened pencils, and liquid violets, it shows the more medium to full-bodied, elegant style of the vintage yet is brilliantly concentrated, has a supple, layered mouthfeel, ripe yet building tannins, and a great, great finish. It's more open and expressive than Mouton and shares plenty of similarities with Comtesse with its layered, supple, just perfectly balanced and classy style. It unquestionably already offers pleasure today (and it's a good time to try a bottle, as I wouldn't be surprised to see it close down), but it will need a decade to hit maturity and it will be a 50-year wine.
87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot. Barrel sample.
Deep purple-black to the rim. Powerful but less obviously muscular this year. Pure, precise and fragrant, the tannins plentiful but really refined. Lovely fruit and texture with a pervading freshness that persists. Length on the finish. Up with the best from this estate (2010, 2016). (JL)
Drink 2030 – 2050
The 2019 Pichon-Longueville Baron was picked from September 18 to October 11. It has a captivating bouquet of intense blackberry, cedar, Japanese nori and sea spray notes on the nose, all exquisitely defined and poised. The harmonious palate is medium-bodied and classic in style, with pencil-lead-infused black fruit, lovely poise and not a single hair out of place toward the finish. Christian Seely believes this vintage suited Pichon-Baron, and that is confirmed by the quality in bottle. Outstanding. 2025 - 2060
The 2019 Pichon-Longueville Baron was picked from 18 September to 11 October, fermented between 25-29°C and aged in 80% new oak for a planned 18 months. This year it represents just under half the production from their 73 hectares of vine. It has a very refined bouquet, perhaps a little more understated than the 2018, a more cerebral nose with predominantly black fruit laced with cedar, tobacco and a beguiling estuarine scent that becomes more prominent with time. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit framed by super-fine tannins that lend this a silky smooth, creamy texture. Certainly this is a rich Pichon-Baron, though it retains all the classicism you could ask for. Very fine salinity comes through on the finish with a persistent spice; after tasted that beckons you back for more. This is an outstanding Pauillac. Tasted twice with consistent notes. 2025 - 2060
Very polished with creamy, lightly chewy tannins and layers of texture. Real cabernet sauvignon here. It’s full-bodied with pretty blackberry and blueberry character. Chocolate, too. Long, intense finish of fine, lightly dusty tannins. Tight and focused. Such finesse and class. 87% cabernet sauvignon and 13% merlot.
The 2019 Pichon Baron is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a little swirling to unlock notions of warm cassis, black cherry preserves, blueberry compote, and violets with touches of licorice, mossy tree bark, tar, and cedar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is firm and very finely grained with a fantastic, racy backbone, finishing long, lively, and fantastically pure.
The 2019 Pichon-Longueville Baron is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot, harvested from the 18th of September to the 11th of October. It is being aged in French oak barrels, 80% new, for 18 months. This grand vin represents 49% of the harvest. Very deep purple-black in color, the nose skyrockets from the glass with vibrant scents of freshly crushed blackberries, black raspberries and blackcurrant pastilles followed by perfumed sparks of fragrant earth, clove oil, lilacs, crushed rocks, molten chocolate and cinnamon toast. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with layer upon layer of black fruit, mineral and exotic spices, framed by beautifully ripe, finely-grained tannins and tons of freshness, finishing with a lingering soft-spoken whisper of floral and earth notions. This is an absolutely beguiling expression that is classic Pauillac and yet it is Pauillac like no other.
Firm tannic grip lands you squarely in Pauillac from the first moment, with pencil lead and charcoal reinforcing the point. This is a serious Pichon Baron, carefully extracted black fruits that barely put a foot wrong, and a firm core of acidity. Takes its time to open in the glass, and will age for decades without breaking a sweat. 80% new oak. 49% of production in this wine. Drinking Window 2029 - 2048
