2021, Château Pichon Baron, PAUILLAC 2ème Grand Cru Classé

Bordeaux Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot.

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.

A brilliant achievement, the 2021 Pichon-Longueville Baron opens in the glass with aromas of dark berries, blackcurrants, cigar wrapper, loamy soil, pencil shavings and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's concentrated and penetrating, with terrific concentration and a beautifully refined, classy profile. A blend of fully 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Merlot, it represents the wine this great estate could have produced in 1996. One of the real successes of the vintage, readers who overlook this wine will live to regret it. 94-96+, William Kelley, Wine Advocate

The 2021 Pichon-Longueville Baron is matured in 70% new oak. It opens up nicely in the glass, revealing a straight-down-the-line, floral bouquet of violets intermingled with graphite notes. There is a delicacy about the aromatics that distinguishes it from recent vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, very pure and "athletic.” No extra fat here; instead, perhaps, slender like the Mouton-Rothschild, which is not a bad thing. Nimble might be a better word. Very fine. 93-95 Neal Martin.

Blackcurrant, blueberry, violet and blackberry notes, as well as plenty of spices. Medium to full body with plenty of richness and blackcurrant and ink character. Tar and graphite, too. Precise and structured. Very Pichon Baron in nature here. 88% cabernet sauvignon. 96-97 James Suckling

Gorgeous depth through the palate, plenty of character, enjoyable, clear power to the well structured tannins. There is less density than the past three vintages of Pichon Baron, but instead have focussed on savoury Cabernet-dominant fruits and added complexity by drawing out the fennel, rosemary and pencil lead character that keeps us firmly in Pauillac. 94 Jane Anson