2017 Pichon Baron Bordeaux Red

2017 Pichon Baron

97 WE

Featured Review

This wine is both weighty and stylish. Its power comes from luscious black fruits that are juicy and powerful. Expect this wine to age well and drink from 2024. Wine Enthusiast

Wine Enthusiast | 97 WE

This wine is both weighty and stylish. Its power comes from luscious black fruits that are juicy and powerful. Expect this wine to age well and drink from 2024.

Wine Enthusiast | 97 WE

A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot aged 18 months in 80% new French oak, the 2017 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron sports a vivid purple hue as well as gorgeous notes of creme de cassis and black raspberry fruits interwoven with classic Pauillac lead pencil, crushed rocks, chocolate, and violet notes. Full-bodied and concentrated, yet elegant and seamless, it has remarkable purity, flawless tannins, beautifully integrated acidity, and a great finish. It's going to hit the early stages of prime drinking in 7-8 years and cruise for 20-25 years or more.

Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JD

(Château Pichon Baron, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) This is smokey, spiced and oak-finessed on the nose but with clear concentration and definition. There is a whole ton of cassis fruit overlaid with cloves and liquorice root, and it is reassuring to see that in 2017 there are still wines that achieve a sense of concentration and power. There is personality here and a sense of Pauillac tannic hold, and it is clearly capable of ageing. The 30hl/ha yield was not because of frost, but because of their low-yielding 60-year-old Cabernet vines. 80% new oak. (Drink between 2023-2045)

Decanter | 95 DEC

The currants, blackberries and spices are very pretty here on the nose. The palate is medium-to full-bodied with round, compact tannins and a fresh, linear finish. Cool and racy. Strong and focused. Drink after 2023.

James Suckling | 95 JS

Composed of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, 80% new, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Pichon-Longueville Baron slips sensuously out of the glass with provocative cherry preserves, baked raspberries and fresh blackcurrants scents, leading to nuances of red roses, charcoal, tilled soil and cardamom plus a waft of forest floor. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant, refreshing and refined, with a compelling line of soft, grainy tannins and lots of perfumed accents, finishing fragrant.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RP

Well-built, featuring the pure, fresh core of currant and blackberry fruit that is the vintage's hallmark, all backed by well-integrated tobacco, cast iron and roasted apple wood notes. Grippy, but with enough energy to keep bringing you back rather than tiring you out. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2024 through 2040. 13,916 cases made.

Wine Spectator | 95 WS

The 2017 Pichon-Baron has developed into a potent wine, even by its own standards. Black cherry, plum, chocolate, grilled herbs, licorice, new leather and spice all flesh out in a succulent Pauillac that shows the racier personality of the year. In the glass, Pichon is dark, racy and sumptuous as it so often is, with terrific density and explosive energy. Today, I see less of the aromatic brilliance the wine showed en primeur; perhaps that will come with time. The 2017 spent 18 months in 80% new oak.

Antonio Galloni | 94+ AG

Type of Wine	Bordeaux Red : Picture in your mind a combination of cedar, lead pencil, blackcurrant, plum and mineral aromatics, and texture that caresses your palate like a playful lover. The experience is thrilling from the first whiff to the final seconds of a tannic, generous finish - that is what you'll get from a Bordeaux Red
Varietal	Red Bordeaux Blend : The inhabitants of the Bordeaux region of France have been cultivating wine-grapes for thousands of years. Ancient Roman ruins litter the vineyards from Saint Emilion to Graves where the art of blending Bordeaux varietals has been practiced and perfected over a very long history. Bordeaux’s climate, terroir and soils, though varied, provide the optimal growing conditions for the red grape varietals planted in the region. Rarely listed on the labels as “blend,” the red wines of Bordeaux are perhaps the most artfully designed and celebrated in the world. The calculated art of blending the native Bordeaux varietals is impressively accomplished in the most famous winegrowing region in the world. The phrase Bordeaux Blend which seems to have been coined by British wine merchants in the 19th Century relates as much to wines made from the blend as to the grape variety combination itself. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and occasionally Carmenere are the lead characters in the creation of Red Bordeaux Blends. Each plays a part in their own fashion and implemented in various combinations and percentages in each appellation within Bordeaux. Red Bordeaux Blends are majorly composed of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, roughly making up 90% of all Bordeaux Blends. Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec (occasionally Carmenere) are also important components and vital to the production of the region’s red wines. For simplicity, the winegrowing region of Bordeaux can be divided into three main appellations producing Red Bordeaux Blends; the Left Bank (Medoc), Right Bank and Pessac-Leognan (Graves). The Left Bank has a terroir comprised of a wide variety of gravel, stones, sand, limestone and clay soils on a natural terrain of gentle slopes. This sets the stage perfectly for the production of Cabernet Sauvignon, which is the dominant grape of the Left Bank. For example, Chateau Lafite (Paulliac) is composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Right Bank is dominated by clay and limestone with sand and gravel, but the clay in the Right Bank is distinctly its own and adds to the health, growth and vitality of the vines of the varietals grown here. Right Bank wines are typically 80% Merlot-based, which are often denser, richer and mature earlier than those of the Left Bank (with exceptions – Petrus for example). Merlot is a vital component to Pomerol winegrowing and making. Cabernet Franc also plays a major role in the Right Bank, most notably, in Saint Emilion, where the infamous vineyards of Chateau Ausone and Chateau Cheval Blanc are planted to 55% and 52% Cabernet Franc, respectively. Chateaux that produce wines with a majority of Cabernet Franc are considered “old school” producers, but have perfected the use of Cabernet Franc, which was originally used as a blending grape. Pessac-Leognan (Graves) enjoys a temperate climate, natural hygrometry influenced by the ocean, and has a terroir composed of gravelly soil over a clay subsoil on sloping, hilly terrain. Natural drainage due to the hilly terrain as well as the gravelly soil structure are perfectly attuned to the Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine, which prospers under these conditions. Pessac reaps the benefits of having the terroir of both the Left and Right Bank as it contains gravel and clay. The clay sub-soil allows the growth and success of Merlot, as well as Cabernet Franc. It is home to the only First Growth not in the Medoc. The 50-hectare vineyard of Haut Brion is planted to 45.4% Merlot, 43.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.7% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The percentage of Petit Verdot and Malbec may be lesser in quantity, but not in quality. They are vital to the region’s creation of Red Bordeaux Blends. The combination of Bordeaux varietals is legendary in the region, around the world and has influenced winegrowers worldwide to plant and vinify wines which resemble those of Red Bordeaux Blends.
Country	France : Wine is the lifeblood that courses through the country of France, pulsing with vigorous pride and determination. Viticulture is not just a hobby or an occupation in France; it is a passion, a cherished tradition that has been passed down through generations of wine stained hands. Winemaking is a beloved art that has been ingrained in the culture, an aptitude instilled in sons by fathers and the hallmark for which France’s reputation was built, allowing it to be renowned as, arguably, the most important wine producing country in the world. For centuries, France has been producing wines of superior quality and in much greater quantity than any other country in the world. It boasts some of the most impressive wine regions, coveted vineyards and prestigious wines on earth. The regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, Sauternes and Champagne have become the benchmark, for which others aspire to become. Legendary producers such as Chateaux Margaux, Domaine De La Romanee Conti, Chapoutier, d’Yquem and Dom Perignon are idolized world-wide. France has stamped its name on nearly every style of wine, from the nectar-like sweet Sauternes to hedonistic Chateauneuf Du Papes classic Bordeaux and Burgundy, to its sparkling dominance in Champagne. Many of the most infamous grape varietals in the world, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay originated in France and are not only beloved, but utilized in the creation of some of the greatest wines on earth. French wine production commands the attention of the wine market year after year. With over 860,000 hectares under vine, and numbers close to 50 million hectoliters of wine produced annually, France dominates the market and sets the standard for not only product quality, but also quantity. France’s many contributions to the world of wine have been absolutely indispensable. The country is the originator of the term “Premier Cru,” coined the term Terroir (a French term so complex there is no literal translation) and has laid the blueprint for a structured appellation system, which others have implemented in their own countries. French vineyard techniques and winemaking practices are mimicked world-wide. California vintners have been replicating Rhone style wines for decades, South America has adopted the French varietal of Malbec and countries around the world are imitating Burgundian styled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. With vast diversity in terroir, France is home to some of the most hospitable winegrowing locations on earth. The combination of topography, geology, climate, rainfall and even the amount of sunlight combined with the long historical tradition of winegrowing and making, has allowed the vintners of France to not only hone their skills, but learn from nature to create a product that like the world in which it resides… is very much alive.
Subregion	Pauillac