Pichon Baron
About Pichon-Longueville Baron
The neo-classical turrets of Château Longueville au Baron de Pichon-Longueville are amongst the most iconic images of Bordelaise grandeur in the entire region. For many years, Pichon existed as one exceedingly large property, consisting of some 50 hectares of stunning terroir in the legendary commune of Pauillac.
Death and marriage, the two great catalysts for change in 19th century France, resulted in the split we see today between this great property, and its sister Pichon Lalande.
Remarkably for two estates which were once one, their styles are dramatically individual - at least in the modern era. Lalande quickly garnered a reputation of feminine elegance rightly or wrongly, but most likely in its early years as a result of being under female ownership, and has undoubtedly pursued this identity in its wines of recent years. Baron, conversely, was considered the more overtly powerful and structured of the two.
The slew of excellent reviews from the world's leading critics for multiple vintages of this estate repeatedly marvel at the remarkable power of the tannins, and the breath-taking concentration always judged to perfection. Quality has certainly increased dramatically at this château, largely due to a ruthless reduction in the quantity of Grand Vin produced.
The team at Pichon Baron decided to focus almost exclusively on the very best site available to this "Super Second", a gravel plateau opposite Château Latour, for their first wine - the rest, and the vast majority, is consigned to two very impressive second wines.
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Vinous - Antonio Galloni (92)
The 2012 Les Griffons de Pichon Baron is dark, voluptuous and immediate. A burst of sweet red plums, smoke, graphite, licorice and tobacco hits the palate. The tannins are sweet but also energetic. Extroverted in style, the 2012 also has enough depth and overall density to drink well for another decade or so. Rose petal, iron and white pepper add the final shades of nuance. Here in its first vintage, Les Griffons is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot.$548.00 -
Vinous - Antonio Galloni (92)
The 2015 Les Griffons de Pichon Baron is dense, powerful and quite juicy, with plenty of black cherry, menthol, licorice and smoke overtones nuances that all build in the glass. Polished and racy to the core, the 2015 is a terrific choice for drinking over the next decade or so.$665.00 -
Jancis Robinson (17)
Glossy, dark crimson – very dense. Rich and racy and much more subtlety than the Tourelles. Inky finish. Good energy.$579.00 -
Jancis Robinson (17)
Tasted blind. Sweet and polished and quite refined. Fairly Merlot-influenced (though 52% Cabernet). Masses of pleasure here! Even if it’s not for the long term.$539.00 -
Wine Enthusiast (94)
This is the second wine of Pichon Baron. Its juicy richness echoes the top wine of the estate with its structure and powerful fruits. The texture though has a lightness that means it will mature relatively quickly. Drink from 2026.$212.00 -
James Suckling (93-94)
A punchy red with blackberry and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, yet extremely refined and polished with a long finish. 50% merlot, 42% cabernet sauvignon and 8% petit verdot.$224.00 -
(3x150cl) 2021Vinous - Neal Martin (91-93)
It is the second year in a row that Les Griffons de Pichon Baron contains Petit Verdot (11%). The fragrant bouquet, perhaps more floral than usual, features scents of pencil box, undergrowth, black fruit and just a hint of violet from the Petit Verdot. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, and quite compact compared to the Grand Vin. Linear and strict on the finish despite the 44% Merlot, with good grip. Perhaps just denied the amplitude of a great growing season, but I can see this aging well in bottle.$383.00 -
Vinous - Antonio Galloni (94)
The 2023 Les Griffons de Pichon Baron is elegant and so precise. Bright red-toned fruit, chalk, mint, spice, blood orange and mocha are all finely sculpted. Floral and citrus-driven top notes reappear on a long, sustained finish supported by chalky notes. This is a terrific vintage for the Griffons.$235.00 -
Vinous - Antonio Galloni (94)
The 2023 Les Griffons de Pichon Baron is elegant and so precise. Bright red-toned fruit, chalk, mint, spice, blood orange and mocha are all finely sculpted. Floral and citrus-driven top notes reappear on a long, sustained finish supported by chalky notes. This is a terrific vintage for the Griffons.$224.00 -
Wine Enthusiast (91)
This is a soft wine, with dominating fruit. It has flavors of black currant and spice, firm tannins and an attractive ripe center.$194.00 -
James Suckling (94-95)
Very fine, well integrated tannins with blackberry, dark chocolate and blackcurrant. It’s full and extremely racy. One of the finest second wines.$269.00 -
Wine Advocate (86)
After having some mediocre bottles of this wine, the last several times I tasted it, it performed well. Still dark ruby with an orange edge, the 1961 Pichon-Longueville has a big, spicy, damp-earth, cedary bouquet, and rich, fat, substantial flavors that lack the multidimension of the finest 1961s. Anticipated maturity: Now-2000. Last tasted, 2/88.$3,615.00 -
(12x75cl) 1985$2,505.00 -
(12x75cl) 1989Wine Spectator (98)
Defines purity and intensity. Shows unbelievable concentration of fruit, with amazing blackberry, cassis, dark chocolate and vanilla flavors and a great tannin structure. A breathtaking wine. Best after 1998. 20,000 cases made.$4,130.00 -
(12x75cl) 1990Wine Advocate (98)
The 1990 Pichon-Longueville Baron has always been one of my benchmark wines, one that never ceases to perform. Now at 27 years of age, it is clearly at its peak, and what a wondrous thing it is. Now showing some bricking on the rim, the bouquet is utterly sublime, with red berries, cedar, touches of graphite, crushed rose petals and incense. You just want to become enveloped by these aromas. The palate is perfectly balanced, perhaps not as structured as it once showed since the tannins have mellowed, but what you get is a Pauillac relishing its secondary phase, which is almost Burgundy-like in terms of mouthfeel. Suffused with tension, it gains weight in the mouth toward the slightly tart finish. It is a Pichon Baron that only knows how to give sophisticated drinking pleasure. I once wrote that Pichon Baron is better than many 1990 First Growth, and that is a statement I have no reason to change. Tasted April 2017.$6,950.00 -
(4x75cl) 1990Wine Advocate (98)
The 1990 Pichon-Longueville Baron has always been one of my benchmark wines, one that never ceases to perform. Now at 27 years of age, it is clearly at its peak, and what a wondrous thing it is. Now showing some bricking on the rim, the bouquet is utterly sublime, with red berries, cedar, touches of graphite, crushed rose petals and incense. You just want to become enveloped by these aromas. The palate is perfectly balanced, perhaps not as structured as it once showed since the tannins have mellowed, but what you get is a Pauillac relishing its secondary phase, which is almost Burgundy-like in terms of mouthfeel. Suffused with tension, it gains weight in the mouth toward the slightly tart finish. It is a Pichon Baron that only knows how to give sophisticated drinking pleasure. I once wrote that Pichon Baron is better than many 1990 First Growth, and that is a statement I have no reason to change. Tasted April 2017.$1,420.00 -
(1x75cl) 1994Wine Advocate (88)
Dark ruby/purple-colored, with a crushed, pure cassis aroma, this excellent, medium to full-bodied wine reveals sweet fruit on the attack, plenty of tannin, but not the inner-core of richness and density exhibited by such other 1994 Pauillacs as Pichon-Lalande, Grand-Puy-Lacoste, and Pontet-Canet. To its credit, the 1994 Pichon-Baron does not reveal any vegetal notes. It should evolve nicely for 10-15 years, representing an attractive, well-made, medium-bodied, classically rendered Bordeaux. Anticipated maturity: 1999-2014.$131.00 -
(12x75cl) 1995Vinous - Neal Martin (93)
The 1995 Pichon Baron was an ex-château bottle that had been reconditioned at the estate. This has a beautiful bouquet, a mixture of red and black fruit, cedar and mint, the latter becoming prominent with aeration. A friend mentioned rooibos tea and I immediately clock that scent. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, very pure and slightly ferrous in style. I have to say that this bottle is superior to previous ones, more vigorous with greater weight and less evolution towards the finish. Quite sweet on the aftertaste, it is simply, banally, just delicious. Drinking perfectly now. Tasted at the 1995 Bordeaux off-line at Piccolino in London.$2,405.00 -
(12x75cl) 1996Decanter (96)
Jean-Rene Matignon had been the winemaker for 10 years at this point and has made a brilliant wine that took its time to come around but is tasting delicious right now, exceptionally enjoyable and enticing. Supple tannins, plenty of grilled cedar and tobacco leaf, plump-textured cassis and blackberry brambled fruits, still fairly backward and young, just very much a classic Pauillac that has poise and lift. A dark horse, not seen as impressive as Comtesse in its youth, but now flexing its muscles.$2,490.00 -
Wine Spectator (91)
Slightly earthy, featuring tobacco, cigar box and dark fruits. Full-bodied, offering supervelvety tannins and a long, rich finish. Plenty of subtle things are going on here in the glass, with lots of wonderful fruit underneath. Can't wait on this. Showing beautifully now. Better than ever.¿'89/'99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now.$2,065.00 -
Wine Advocate (97)
The 2000 Château Pichon Baron is just getting better and better and better. Perhaps the magnum format played its part, but nevertheless...just...wow. This is a millennial Left Bank with the keys to the top drawer. It has an incredibly precise, mineral-driven bouquet with intense black fruit infused with cedar and graphite scents. It just reeks of Pauillac in an almost uncompromising, yet compelling manner. The palate is structured, stylish and effortless, extraordinarily pure and unerringly youthful. This is a Pichon Baron saying, You ain't seen nothing yet. You could broach this now if you wanted, but the clever people will wisely bunker this for another decade and gloat from 2025 onward. Tasted January 2016.$3,305.00 -
(6x150cl) 2000Wine Advocate (97)
The 2000 Château Pichon Baron is just getting better and better and better. Perhaps the magnum format played its part, but nevertheless...just...wow. This is a millennial Left Bank with the keys to the top drawer. It has an incredibly precise, mineral-driven bouquet with intense black fruit infused with cedar and graphite scents. It just reeks of Pauillac in an almost uncompromising, yet compelling manner. The palate is structured, stylish and effortless, extraordinarily pure and unerringly youthful. This is a Pichon Baron saying, You ain't seen nothing yet. You could broach this now if you wanted, but the clever people will wisely bunker this for another decade and gloat from 2025 onward. Tasted January 2016.$4,025.00 -
Wine Spectator (93)
Dense aromas of licorice, tobacco, cedar and currants. Subtle yet complex. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a rich, long finish. Very pretty. One of the best from Pauillac this year, and clearly better than 2001. One of the surprises of the vintage. Best after 2008. 20,000 cases made.$1,645.00 -
(3x300cl) 2003James Suckling (96)
Sweet tobacco and plum with hints of leather and cassis on the nose. Full bodied, with big velvety tannins and lots of fruit. Very rich and powerful, even chewy. Give this some time to mellow out. Pull the cork after 2016. Find the wine$2,185.00 -
(12x75cl) 2004Vinous - Neal Martin (93)
The 2004 Pichon-Baron has a lilting bouquet of blackberry, wild strawberry, rose petals and dried herbs, conservative in style but clean and precise. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannin, and quite sappy in the mouth. This 2004 has plenty of personality and sports an attractive estuarine personality, showing traces of brine and seaweed toward the fresh, bright, vivid finish. It should drink well for many years. Tasted at the Pichon-Baron vertical at the château.$1,685.00 -
Wine & Spirit Magazine (96)
Baron was trapped in its oak en primeur, seeming flashy, luscious and soft. Now bottled and shipped, it has the unremitting tannic power of the vintage, balanced by unrelenting purity of fruit that somehow manages to anesthetize the monstrous tannin, to soften the extremely dry, mineral-bound finish into a caress. The wine may be bombastic, but it's also succulent and as sweet as a ripe black raspberry. It's easy to imagine this wine 50 years from now, in impeccable condition.$2,305.00 -
(1x75cl) 2005Wine & Spirit Magazine (96)
Baron was trapped in its oak en primeur, seeming flashy, luscious and soft. Now bottled and shipped, it has the unremitting tannic power of the vintage, balanced by unrelenting purity of fruit that somehow manages to anesthetize the monstrous tannin, to soften the extremely dry, mineral-bound finish into a caress. The wine may be bombastic, but it's also succulent and as sweet as a ripe black raspberry. It's easy to imagine this wine 50 years from now, in impeccable condition.$181.00 -
Wine & Spirit Magazine (96)
Baron was trapped in its oak en primeur, seeming flashy, luscious and soft. Now bottled and shipped, it has the unremitting tannic power of the vintage, balanced by unrelenting purity of fruit that somehow manages to anesthetize the monstrous tannin, to soften the extremely dry, mineral-bound finish into a caress. The wine may be bombastic, but it's also succulent and as sweet as a ripe black raspberry. It's easy to imagine this wine 50 years from now, in impeccable condition.$2,570.00 -
Vinous (92+)
Full ruby-red. Pungent, high-pitched aromas of blackberry, cassis, minerals, bitter chocolate and mocha. Suave, fine-grained and densely packed, with lovely violet lift to its concentrated dark fruit and mineral flavors. Juicy acidity and serious building tannins give this very young wine terrific backbone for aging. Really spreads out to saturate the palate.$1,790.00 -
Vinous (92+)
Full ruby-red. Pungent, high-pitched aromas of blackberry, cassis, minerals, bitter chocolate and mocha. Suave, fine-grained and densely packed, with lovely violet lift to its concentrated dark fruit and mineral flavors. Juicy acidity and serious building tannins give this very young wine terrific backbone for aging. Really spreads out to saturate the palate.$911.00

