Château Pichon Baron 2021
Recommended
IN BOND
Delivery 2024
Appellation - Pauillac
Owner - AXA Millésimes
88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot
Second wines – Les Tourelles de Longueville, Les Griffons de Pichon-Baron
Annual production – 250,000 bottles
TASTING NOTES
"The 2021 Pichon-Longueville Baron (which, incidentally, has been the legal name since 2021!) 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, vinous.com, May 2022
"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 (260), April 2022
"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, JamesSuckling.com, May 2022
"Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2021 Pichon Baron needs a lot of swirling to conjure notes of ripe raspberries, fresh boysenberries, and cassis, plus suggestions of tree bark, violets, and fertile loam with a hint of cardamom. Light-bodied, the palate has a racy line and chewy tannins supporting the lithe, electrically charged fruit, finishing with compelling freshness. At 88% Cabernet Sauvignon to 12% Merlot, this is the highest-ever proportion of Cabernet in the blend, which will be aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, 70% of them new."
2027-2052
90/92
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, May 2022
"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 they focused instead savoury Cabernet-dominant fruits and added complexity by drawing out the fennel, rosemary and pencil lead character that keeps us firmly in Pauillac. Highest level of Cabernet Sauvignon ever (just more than 2018), with 70% new oak for ageing. Harvest through to October 8."
94
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, April 2022
