| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Medium to deep garnet-brick in color, the 2014 Pichon Baron offers up serious, straight-laced notes of blackcurrant cordial, cedar chest, and tobacco leaf leading to hints of cardamom, pencil lead, and truffle. The medium-bodied palate is gracefully styled, with lovely tension and ripe, fine-grained tannins, finishing long and minerally.
The 2014 Pichon Baron has a similar bouquet to the Pichon Lalande: very precise and classic Pauillac replete with black fruit, graphite and perhaps a little more undergrowth. Maybe there is a touch more Merlot here, suggesting Pichon Lalande (when in fact it is Pichon Baron!) The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, very well defined with great depth, mineral-driven towards the finish that possesses wonderful harmony and length. It is just a beautiful, quite delicious Pauillac. Wonderful. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 2022 - 2055
Irony and smoky intensity on the very youthful nose. Really rich and tannic, but as it flows over your palate it becomes more and more suave and complex. This is a concentrated, long-term wine that demands some patience but should richly reward it. Try in 2022.
Grilled cedar on the nose giving appellation signature right from the start, with smoky notes that ripple through the dense blackcurrant and bilberry fruit, along with cocoa bean, liquorice and smoked earth. This remains powerfully concentrated at seven years old, and will take its time to unwind. Give it another three or four years or a good long carafe, and expect it to last for another few decades without breaking a sweat. Enjoyable, this is a brilliance slice of what Pichon Baron can deliver so effortlessly. 80% new oak. Jean-René Matignon technical director.
Tasted blind. Suave and polished. Thick and rewarding with an inky spine. Big and bold. Very clean and understated. Very long.
Drink 2024-2044
This great vineyard has been producing classic Pauillac since the late 1980's when Jean-Michel Cazes of Lynch Bages took control. In recent years Englishman Christian Seely has been in charge and quality continues to rise. 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 all our recent blind vintage tastings. 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 80% new oak. Deep ruby with a purple rim. Blackcurrant, blackberry and creamy vanilla from new oak on the nose. Rich and brooding on the nose. The palate is richly textured with mocha, chocolate, blackberry and toasted spices. Generous, ripe blackcurrant core with a clean and balanced acidity. Long, pure and spicy on the finish.
More reserved and classically styled than the 2015, the 2014 Pichon-Longueville Baron is nevertheless a beautiful wine and up with the top wines in the vintage. Possessing deep ruby/plum color as well as terrific notes of blackberries, smoke tobacco, graphite, chocolate, and hints of cedar, it has a regal, understated, yet concentrated style that builds with time in the glass. Medium to full-bodied, ripe, layered, and beautifully textured, it’s a classy wine from this estate that’s going to benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and keep for two decades. 2022 - 2046
A solid rendering, with an ample core of cassis, cherry preserves and plum cake backed by energetic, brambly tannins. A singed apple wood accent on the finish adds range. Shows good cut throughout. Best from 2020 through 2035. 13,335 cases made.
There is a smoky fragrant freshness on the nose and a bright fresh start to the palate. Sweet and ripe in the middle fine well handled tannins cassis and black cherry. Lighter at the back fresh fruit very much to the fore the finish just lacking a bit of richness. 2027-40
There will be less new oak in the finished wine than there was in the en primeur sample, which is good news as I found Pichon a little too marked by notes of mocha and chocolate. The underlying wine is very smart indeed with good grip and structure and the density and fruit weight to age.
The 2014 Pichon-Longueville Baron was broody at first, as if a big "No Entry" sign had been placed in front of the aromatics. But peeking underneath are some wonderful blackberry, cedar and graphite aromas that just sing of Pauillac and exude typicity. The palate is medium-bodied with very impressive depth and concentration on the entry, a superb line of acidity and outstanding precision on the finish. This is clearly fulfilling its potential that it showed from barrel. The only drawback is that it might be unfairly overshadowed by the 2015 Pichon Baron! This will be one of those over-performing Pauillacs, perhaps like the 1990 Pichon Baron, that will delight for years to come. Drink date 2022 - 2050
The Château Pichon Baron 2009 is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, almost the same as 2010. It was picked between late September and 16 October. It has a tightly wound bouquet at the moment, very "contained" and not as flamboyant as say, the 2009 or the 2010 at this early jucture. But there is remarkable precision here - an aristocractic nose with fleeting glimpses of cedar and pencil lead. The palate is medium-bodied. The acidity is quite noticeable although the pH is 3.8, higher than you would have expected. There is certainly a lot of body and structure (IPT came in at 91) with a precise, almost stoic, graphite finish. If the disappearance of Château Latour from en primeur is getting you down then this will fill that gap nicely. Drink: 2020-2045.
A fabulous young wine with superb depth of fruit and density that shows blueberries, blackberries, oyster shells and stones. Full-bodied, chewy yet with a laser-guided backbone of tannins. Goes on for minutes. Concentrated yet so fine and beautiful. The tannin content analysis is the same as 2009 and 2010 apparently from the winemakers, but the tannin quality is better. Amazing. This could be a remake of the 2010 but fresher.
Very deep blackish crimson. Hint of savoury treacle/molasses on the nose. Then a little dry but with decent mid charge of tannins. Far from opulent. Pretty angular at this stage. A tiny bit hollow. Needs to gain flesh. Griffons is almost too charming now!
Drink 2024-2040
