Château Pichon Baron - Pauillac (Grand Cru Classé) 2018 (750ml)

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Producer	Château Pichon Baron
Country	France
Region	Bordeaux
Subregion	Pauillac
Varietal	Merlot,  Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage	2018
Sku	111633
Size	750ml
ABV	13.00%

 

MT

Sitting imposingly opposite Pichon Comtesse de Lalande, Pichon-Baron is nothing if not a stunning château.

Some 70 hectares, planted to 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, with an average vine age of 30-35 years. The 40 distinct plots, all on the Pauillac/St.-Julien boundary, are now harvest and vinified separately, thanks to the impressive new cellar facilities.

The concept of lutte raisonée is practiced here, essentially a policy of minimal intervention, allowing nature to take its course, and they have achieved certification to ISO 1401. No sprays are utilised in the vineyard whatsoever, not even the ubiquitous (and permitted) Copper Sulphate. The initial triage or sorting is completed in the vineyard by the pickers.

From the 2012 vintage the name of Château Pichon Longueville Baron is formally changed to Château Pichon Baron. This has actually been what most people have called the chateau and the wine for a long time.

Château Pichon Baron 2018 reveals a dark garnet color. The precise and delicate nose offers notes of fresh fruit, black berries and spices. The attack is mellow, generous, rounded and juicy, developing powerful, well-blended tannins. The body is structured with silky, racy tannins. The flavour is carried by the structure, which preserves the mid-palate. The finish is tasty, full, fleshy, and harmonious.

Our Grand Vin Château Pichon Baron 2nd Grand Cru Classé in 1855 comes from the very oldest vines grown on the historic plots of the estate. This authentic Pauillac offers an amazing sensory experience with its black fruit flavours and spicy hints. Château Pichon Baron shows great elegance, intensity, and exceptional length on the palate. It is a wine that improves year after year and can age for over 40 years in the cellar.

Blend: 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot

Critical Acclaim

WE100
Wine Enthusiast

This great estate in southern Pauillac, facing the Latour vineyard, is at the top of its game. In this release, the tannins are as impressive and dense as the black fruits. Together they form a harmonious ensemble, richly structured, concentrated from the many old vines in the blend, and very ageworthy. Drink from 2027. Cellar Selection

WW100
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Château Pichon Baron takes the prize as the star of the vintage. TASTING NOTES: This wine excels in all categories—aroma, flavors, balance, concentration, and style. It offers aromas and flavors of extracted black fruit, hints of licorice, oak, and other still to be revealed nuances. Give it time in the cellar before popping its cork. (Tasted: June 25, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
D99
Decanter
Generous aromatics of dark berry fruit, caramel, and spice are clear indicators of a warm vintage, but there are also floral notes and no heaviness whatsoever. There is juicy, savoury substance on the palate, sustained by gossamer tannins of surprising delicacy, but lurking underneath is the power so characteristic of this vintage. A few years of cellaring will be needed for the terroir expression to hit its stride.
JD97
Jeb Dunnuck

A beautiful, majestic Pauillac that reminds me a little of the 2000, the 2018 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron checks in as 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot that was brought up in 80% new French oak. It shows the estate's more pure Cabernet, focused, elegant style yet offers full-bodied richness and serious depth of fruit as well as awesome notes of crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil shavings, tobacco, and wet stone-like minerality. With building tannin's, a fresh, focused texture, and a great finish, it's not for those looking for instant gratification, and I suspect it will need a solid decade or more of cellaring, but it will evolve for 50 years or more. It's a profound 2018. Rating : 97+

WS97
Wine Spectator

A very polished and pure expression of Pauillac, but don't go to sleep on it. As charming and vibrant as the cassis, cherry preserve and blackberry paste flavors are, they have a latent saturated feel. And then there's a serious network of iron girders supporting it all, along with sweet tobacco, floral and worn cedar accents. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2030 through 2050.

JS97
James Suckling

Aromas of blackcurrants, blueberries, ash and cedar with hints of conifer. Full-bodied, yet so tight and refined with polished, toned tannins that are creamy and compact with a silky texture. Energetic and driven. Try after 2026.

RP96
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2018 Pichon-Longueville Baron is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot, aged for 18 months in barriques, 80% new and 20% one year old. Production of the grand vin represents 50% of the harvest this year. Deep garnet-purple colored, the nose bursts from the glass with flamboyant scents of stewed black plums, crème de cassis and Black Forest cake, plus suggestions of Indian spices, unsmoked cigars, pencil shavings and espresso. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers impactful black fruit preserves and exotic spice layers, framed by plush tannin's and a lively backbone, finishing long and spicy. Rating : 96+