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Slightly earthy, featuring tobacco, cigar box and dark fruits. Full-bodied, offering supervelvety tannins and a long, rich finish. Plenty of subtle things are going on here in the glass, with lots of wonderful fruit underneath. Can’t wait on this. Showing beautifully now. Better than ever.—’89/’99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now.Wine Spectator | 91 WSThe 1999 Pichon-Baron now has better precision and focus than the 1998. The nose of blackberry, graphite and smoke is not intense but gains vigor with continued aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and a little brine on the entry, and quite saline, showing moderate depth. It just feels a bit foursquare toward the finish. It will not improve further, so drink over the next five or six years.Vinous Media | 90 VMNo written review provided. | 90 W&S

Dense aromas of licorice, tobacco, cedar and currants. Subtle yet complex. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a rich, long finish. Very pretty. One of the best from Pauillac this year, and clearly better than 2001. One of the surprises of the vintage. Best after 2008. 20,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSBlack fruits and cherry interlaced with pleasant notes of mint, anise, and truffles. On the palate, the fine, precise tannic structure seems quite delicate but provides excellent length on the finish. This provides another example of stylistic evolution toward greater precision along the lines of that of the 2001, possessing as these two wines do both vivacity and weightlessness on the finish. Even if this bottle has reached its apogee, it remains very elegant. (Drink between 2022-2030)Decanter | 92 DEC

(Château Pichon Baron, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) Pichon Baron 2004 impresses by its youthful energy and a floral bouquet brimming with black fruit including cherry. Aeration reveals a delightful minty freshness. A succulent, juicy attack leads the way to a full-bodied and velvety structure of elegant tannins. Here is a wine suffused with that now signature Pichon combination of energy, tension, and mineral sensations. Superb wine. (Drink between 2022-2030)Decanter | 94 DECAn undeniable star of the vintage, Pichon-Baron’s 2004 boasts an inky/ruby/purple color to the rim as well as a big, sweet nose of melted licorice, chocolate, black currant jam, truffles, and charcoal embers. Soft tannin, full body, and abundant opulence and flesh are atypical for the vintage character, but this wine is loaded. Pure, ripe, and evolved, it should be at its finest between 2009-2022.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe 2004 Pichon-Baron has a lilting bouquet of blackberry, wild strawberry, rose petals and dried herbs, conservative in style but clean and precise. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannin, and quite sappy in the mouth. This 2004 has plenty of personality and sports an attractive estuarine personality, showing traces of brine and seaweed toward the fresh, bright, vivid finish. It should drink well for many years. Tasted at the Pichon-Baron vertical at the château.Vinous Media | 93 VMThe sleek texture of this wine is built on a confit of ripe fruit and satin-rich tannin. It’s succulent, harmonious and potent, with berry-skin flavors. Rather than freshness, there’s a green-herb and tart-cherry element that provides an edge to the flavor. A textural pleasure, and a grand wine to cellar ten years or more.Wine & Spirits | 93 W&SSweet tobacco and plums with just a hint of prunes. Fascinating nose. Full body with velvety tannins, tangy acidity and a fresh finish. Just right now. Savory and delicious.James Suckling | 92 JSLots of currant, licorice and light tar aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, yet refined and silky on the palate, with a lightly chewy finish. Needs time. Best after 2010. 20,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

The 2005 Pichon-Longueville Baron is another concentrated, full-bodied 2005 that’s starting to drink well. Cassis, black cherries, tobacco leaf, cedar and classic Pauillac lead-pencil characteristics all emerge from this ripe, sexy, surprisingly rounded effort that has a stacked mid-palate and sweet, polished tannin. It’s impressive today but is going to cruise for another two to three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDBaron was trapped in its oak en primeur, seeming flashy, luscious and soft. Now bottled and shipped, it has the unremitting tannic power of the vintage, balanced by unrelenting purity of fruit that somehow manages to anesthetize the monstrous tannin, to soften the extremely dry, mineral-bound finish into a caress. The wine may be bombastic, but it’s also succulent and as sweet as a ripe black raspberry. It’s easy to imagine this wine 50 years from now, in impeccable condition. Diageo Château & Estate Wines, NYWine & Spirits | 96 W&SA great, classic Pauillac, with its dark, dense, almost black currant flavors stirred together with immense tannins. The layers of dryness, fresh fruits, acidity and ripeness are all coming together into a magnificent structure.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEWeeks of sunshine preceded an entirely healthy harvest, leading to high expectations that have been fulfilled. This is still opaque red in colour, the resplendent black-fruit nose accompanied by toasty oak, though still a bit reserved. Very rich and velvety, it is highly concentrated with lavish tannins. Broad-shouldered and chocolatey, it has moderate acidity and is now beginning to open up, though it remains imposing and a bit monumental. Textured and long. Drinking Window 2020 - 2038Decanter | 95 DECThe 2005 Pichon Baron is in a gorgeous spot right now. Aromatically expressive and open, the 2005 is so expressive. Cedar, sweet pipe tobacco, mint, dried flowers, mocha and sweet red cherry fruit all meld together in a creamy, wonderfully expressive Pauillac. A long, persistent finish with terrific saline energy rounds things out in style. The 2005 is a super classic Pichon Baron that delivers so much pleasure.Antonio Galloni | 95 AGOffers crushed currant and blackberry on the nose, turning to tar and licorice. Full-bodied, with a solid core of ripe fruit and seamless tannins. Goes on and on. Very, very beautiful. A cross between the 2000 and fabulous 2003. Best after 2013. 20,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe 2005 Pichon Baron has a dense ruby/purple color, sweet crème de cassis fruit, lots of cedar wood and forest floor, medium to full body, ripe tannin, and a long finish of a good 30+ seconds. This is a beauty and one of the most successful Pauillacs of this vintage. Drink it now through 2035.Robert Parker | 93 RP

This shows lovely richness and balance for a 2006, with medium, round tannins that envelop the palate and plenty of currant, chocolate and cedar undertones. It’s long and pretty. Developing nicely. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSClosed but promising, this is a tannic, masculine style of wine in 2006, with an inky bluish/purple color as well as aromas of incense, charcoal, smoked meats, and the classic creme de cassis that one finds in the top Pauillacs. The aromatics are still retrained, but the wine is full-bodied in the mouth, tannic, backward, and set for a relatively long life. This is not one of the profound wines from Pichon Longueville Baron, but it is certainly a top-flight success for the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2028.Robert Parker | 92 RPA problematic vintage which suffers from following the majestic 2005. But it delivered fine, if austere, wines in Pauillac. The nose is muted, with blackcurrant and menthol aromas. After a sleek attack, the palate shows immense concentration and formidable tannins that are still grippy, austere, and chocolatey (described by Christian Seely as ’bad-tempered’!). This has density rather than charm or finesse, and is far from being ready to drink. Perhaps it’s a bit too extracted - one hopes the slightly dry tannins will soften and harmonise. Long, with a chewy finish. Drinking Window 2021 - 2038.Decanter | 92 DECThere’s an excellent dark color to this, with blowsy, rich aromas of crushed blackberry and currant. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long finish. The center palate will fill in with time. This has lovely balance. Best after 2014.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe 2006 Pichon-Baron has the same showy crème de cassis–tinged bouquet that I have remarked upon in previous bottles, pure but missing the complexity of the 2004 and 2005. The medium-bodied palate is bold and assertive, with thick, chewy tannin, but the class and sophistication are not at the level I would expect. It offers volume and matière but not panache. I am intrigued to see how it will age. Tasted at the Pichon-Baron vertical at the château.Vinous Media | 90 VM

This is a solid, concentrated wine from a reliable chateau. It has weight and power, with rich black fruits balanced with fresh acidity. Touches of bitter extraction and wood aging are likely to integrate as the wine ages. It should develop into an impressive and powerful wine. Drink from 2018.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2011 Pichon-Baron has an impressive bouquet with intense mineral-driven black fruit, cedar and a lovely marine influence that comes through with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, very harmonious with a fine bead of acidity. Classy, sophisticated, this has plenty of breeding. Superb. This is perhaps the best bottle that I have encountered. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.Vinous Media | 93 VMJuicy black fruits, including cherry, blackcurrant, and blueberry with an undercurrent of graphite. Medium body but an enticingly juicy and surprisingly creamy-textured mouthfeel in the context of this vintage where the tannins are so often quite grippy. This wine already provides immense pleasure on the palate. Bravo! Drinking Window 2022 - 2040.Decanter | 93 DEC(Château Pichon-Longueville) I have been quite a fan of the young vintages of Château Pichon-Longueville in the last decade or so, but I crossed paths with a handful of vintages from early in the decade during the many events held for En Primeur and I was rather dismayed to see the wines seemingly drying out from their high percentage of new oak. This included the 2001, which should have been starting to really drink splendidly, but was instead astringent from uncovered wood tannins. Now, I am beginning to wonder about whether or not the high percentage of very spicy new oak used here is not too heavy a load for the wine to carry over time. In any event, the 2011 Château Pichon-Longueville is a very cabernet-dominated wine this year, with fully eighty-two percent of the blend comprised of this varietal. The nose is pure and really stunning, offering up scents of black cherries, cassis, cigar wrapper, gravel, coffee bean and plenty of spicy (Taransaud?) new barrels. On the palate the wine is full-bodied and deep and pure on the attack, with a very good core of fruit (particularly for 2011), fine focus and a long, very primary and very tannic finish. There is a distinct dry edge to the tannins at the present time, and a year ago I would have given this wine the benefit of the doubt. But, having seen a couple of recent vintages drying out from wood tannins, I am not entirely sure about how the 2011 Château Pichon-Longueville will evolve with bottle age. It will certainly be at least a very good wine, but will it also be a bit marred a decade down the road by its eighty percent new oak in this vintage? (Drink between 2022-2060).John Gilman | 88-92 JGA Pichon Baron with currants and cocoa powder. It’s a little lean but shows lovely full body, bright fruit and polished tannins. Lovely race and finesse. Better in 2018.James Suckling | 92 JSShows a taut feel for now, with lots of cassis and blackberry fruit, lined with iron and bramble notes. Dark and well-toasted yet integrated overall, this should stretch out after moderate cellaring, as there’s an ample core of dark, fleshy fruit. Best from 2016 through 2028. 15,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSIts bigger, more famous sibling, the 2011 Pichon Longueville Baron exhibits a dense ruby/purple color, an opulent mouthfeel for a 2011, silky tannins and no hard edges. Medium-bodied and well-endowed, it is a major success in this vintage. It should hit its stride in 3-4 years and last for 15+.Robert Parker | 91 RPThe 2011 Pichon-Longueville Baron is a classic, solid, outstanding 2011 that offers textbook cedar and lead pencil notes as well as a core of dark fruits, medium-bodied richness, ripe tannin, and a focused, chiseled, yet balanced style on the palate. It’s drinking nicely today but will last for another two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 91 JD

More reserved and classically styled than the 2015, the 2014 Pichon-Longueville Baron is nevertheless a beautiful wine and up with the top wines in the vintage. Possessing deep ruby/plum color as well as terrific notes of blackberries, smoke tobacco, graphite, chocolate, and hints of cedar, it has a regal, understated, yet concentrated style that builds with time in the glass. Medium to full-bodied, ripe, layered, and beautifully textured, it’s a classy wine from this estate that’s going to benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and keep for two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDA deep red colour leads into a voluptuous blackcurrant nose, poised, seductive and showing stylish oak. Rich but not overbearing, highly concentrated with explosive fruit and tannins. This has depth and structure without undue extraction. Spicy, lively, and very long. Drinking Window 2020 - 2035.Decanter | 95 DECIrony and smoky intensity on the very youthful nose. Really rich and tannic, but as it flows over your palate it becomes more and more suave and complex. This is a concentrated, long-term wine that demands some patience but should richly reward it. Try in 2022.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2014 Pichon-Longueville Baron was broody at first, as if a big "No Entry" sign had been placed in front of the aromatics. But peeking underneath are some wonderful blackberry, cedar and graphite aromas that just sing of Pauillac and exude typicity. The palate is medium-bodied with very impressive depth and concentration on the entry, a superb line of acidity and outstanding precision on the finish. This is clearly fulfilling its potential that it showed from barrel. The only drawback is that it might be unfairly overshadowed by the 2015 Pichon Baron! This will be one of those over-performing Pauillacs, perhaps like the 1990 Pichon Baron, that will delight for years to come.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 94 RP-NMA wine of pure sophistication and class, the 2014 Pichon-Longueville Baron exudes depth and intensity from the very first taste. Super-ripe black cherry, plum, smoke, tobacco and licorice all flesh out in the glass. This is a surprisingly ripe style for the vintage. Readers should give the 2014 at least a few years in bottle to come together.Vinous Media | 94 VMA solid rendering, with an ample core of cassis, cherry preserves and plum cake backed by energetic, brambly tannins. A singed apple wood accent on the finish adds range. Shows good cut throughout. Best from 2020 through 2035. 13,335 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS