Appellations

Pichon Baron 2020

Pauillac, Second Growth

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Tasting Notes

The 2020 Pichon Baron is every bit as magnificent as it was en primeur. A wine of vertical intensity and explosive power, the 2020 offers up an exotic mix of dark red/black fruit, espresso, licorice, menthol, gravel and dried herbs. This potent, driving Pauillac needs time to come together. It marries the fruit intensity of a warm year with the driving energy of a cool year. The 2020 is a gorgeous Pichon Baron.

Score: 98 Antonio Galloni, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2028-2050 Date: 23 February 2023

The 2020 Pichon Baron is utterly breathtaking, and also one of the very best young vintages I have tasted here. An exotic mélange of red cherry, mint, rose petal and blood orange comes alive in the glass. More than anything, though, the Pichon-Baron possesses remarkable energy and vibrancy that builds to an intense, beautifully focused finish. This is hands down one of the most impressive wines of 2020. Superb.

Score: 96 - 98 Antonio Galloni, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2035-2055 Date: 01 June 2021

As I found before, the 2020 Pichon Baron takes a while to open in the glass. Finally, it offers enticing blackberry and boysenberry fruit, peony and iris flower, hints of graphite and black truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, again, displaying outstanding symmetry and focus, fresh as a daisy with a strong and mineral-driven finish. Christian Seely and his team have overseen a splendid Pichon Baron for the ages. Blue-blooded Pauillac.

Score: 97 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2028-2050 Date: 08 February 2023

The 2020 Pichon Baron underwent an early picking with relatively low yields. A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot, it has a very tight nose at first that demands 15–20 minute coaxing in the glass. It eventually reveals enticing blackberries, blueberries and hints of balsamic and undergrowth, all very precise; crushed rock scents surface with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, fine-grained tannins and touches of hoisin toward a dense but structured finish of unerring symmetry. Tasted from test tube sample and regular 75cl bottle.

Score: 95 - 97 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2028-2050 Date: 01 May 2021

Densely structured, with muscular tannins that confidently hold the cassis and blackberry fruits in check and load up on the Pauillac character. This is great quality, full of liquorice, gunpowder tea and grilled cocoa bean set against plump black fruits and a mouthwateringly fresh finish with eucalyptus and slate. Will be bottled in June 2020 (and go into vat a few months earlier), but will easily need 6 to 8 years in bottle to fully soften. 80% new oak, 48% of overall production, 30hl/h yield. Harvest September 14 to 30.

Score: 96 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2029-2064 Date: 22 December 2021

Intense, concentrated, rippling with power while still delivering finesse. A muscular Pichon Baron, layered with liquorice and chocolate shavings. Unmistakably Pauillac, and hugely Cabernet dominant, with savoury spice notes of grilled cumin and the same muscular, saline-backed tannins that you find in Les Griffons, just here with more definition and depth. 70% new oak for 18 months, 48% of overall production. Harvest September 14 to 30. Yields on the old vines here just above 30hl/ha.

Score: 96 Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2029 - 2048 Date: 01 May 2021

The inky hued 2020 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron checks in as a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot that spent 18 months in 70% new barrels. It's a dense, rich, powerful 2020 offering loads of pure cassis and almost blue fruits as well as full-bodied richness, a round, lush, incredibly sexy texture, sweet tannins, and ample classic Pauillac lead pencil, tobacco, and violet aromas and flavors. It's unquestionably in the same ballpark as the 2015, 2016, and 2018, and given its sweet tannins and beautifully integrated acidity, it should have some up-front appeal as well, yet still age at a glacier pace.

Score: 96 - 98 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Date: 25 May 2021

The 2020 Pichon-Longueville Baron is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot aging for an estimated 18 months in French oak barrels, 70% new. The production of the grand vin represents 48% of the harvest this year. Opaque purple-black in color, it comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant notions of blackberry pie, preserved plums and crème de cassis, plus suggestions of Chinese five spice, chocolate mint, graphite and cedar chest with a touch of violets. The medium-bodied palate is built like a brick house, featuring firm, ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness to support the taut, muscular black fruits, finishing long and spicy.

Score: 95 - 97 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2027 - 2052 Date: 21 May 2021

Intense, concentrated, rippling with power while still delivering finesse. A muscular Pichon Baron, layered with liquorice and chocolate shavings. Unmistakably Pauillac, and hugely Cabernet dominant, with savoury spice notes of grilled cumin and the same muscular, saline-backed tannins that you find in Les Griffons, just here with more definition and depth. 70% new oak for 18 months, 48% of overall production. Harvest September 14 to 30. Yields on the old vines here just above 30hl/ha.

Score: 96 Richard Hemming, Decanter.com Maturity: 2029 - 2048 Date: 19 May 2021

76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot. Cask sample. Deep crimson hue. Powerful and reserved, the nose dark and restrained with just a nip of vanilla oak and spice. Dense, firm and persistent on the palate, a massive tannic frame heightened by acidity. Powerful and brooding. Will definitely need time. (JL)

Score: 18 Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com Date: 09 May 2021

This young Bordeaux is totally seamless with fine, velvet-like tannins that are integrated and refined. Underlying freshness and verve. It’s full-bodied, linear and long with a compact palate.

Score: 97 - 98 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Date: 16 April 2021