2017 Château Pichon Baron, Pauillac, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
Enjoyable, softening in structure even at four years old, with an enticing grilled quality to the blueberry and blackberry fruit. Less concentrated than the 2016 vintage, as is typical for the 2017s even in a muscular appellation such as Pauillac, but with charm and finesse, and supple tannins. Crushed mint leaf character on the finish adds to the feeling of a well-handled, confident wine. 80% new oak, 30hl/h yield (not because oft the frost that affected many in the vintage, but because of their low-yielding 60-year-old Cabernet vines).
Drink 2027 - 2048
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (December 2021)
The 2017 Pichon-Baron was picked from 18 September with the Merlot, finishing on 3 October with the Cabernet Sauvignon, matured in 80% new oak for 20 months. It has a crisp, precise and tightly wound bouquet, although the aromatics feel a little reticent. Likewise, the tannins are a little conspicuous at this precise moment. They will soften with time. There is commendable body and precision, slightly peppery towards the finish with a tang of cracked black pepper on the aftertaste. Very fine - what you might call a "solid" Pichon Baron.
Drink 2023 - 2045
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (September 2019)
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.
Drink 2025 - 2042
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (December 2019)
Made from 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot, the 2017 Pichon Baron is deep garnet in color. It races out of the glass with super-charged scents of warm black and red currants, mulberries, and Morello cherries, plus suggestions of Ceylon tea, rose oil, and Sichuan pepper. The medium-bodied palate is so fine and elegant, with a gorgeous backbone of freshness and densely pixilated tannins, finishing long and fragrant. This is very impressive.
Drink 2024 - 2050
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent (December 2022)
79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot. Aged 18 months in oak barrels (80% new).
Ruby-garnet hue. Red- and dark-fruit aromas on the nose but ever so slightly diffuse. Palate more precise. Generous fruit, touch of vanilla oak and finely honed tannins. Attractive but serious at the same time, the power and structure deceptive.
Drink 2025 - 2040
James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com (March 2023)
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.
Drink 2021 - 2042
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate (March 2020)
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 2023+
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, (December 2019)
A lovely, classic bouquet of blackcurrant, blackberry, and other black fruits with an attractive floral flourish. On the palate, it is medium-bodied and elegantly proportioned but also deliciously juicy, sapid, and long. Already ready for drinking enjoyment, it will nonetheless improve further over the next 10 years.
Drink 2025 - 2050
Yohan Castaing, Decanter (December 2021)
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.
Drink 2027 - 2052
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (February 2020)
About this WINE
Chateau Pichon Baron
Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, a leading Pauillac 2éme Cru Classé estate, is one of Bordeaux's most illustrious "super seconds". In 1987 it was bought by the AXA Millésimes Group, who also own Cantenac-Brown, Petit-Village, Suduiraut.
AXA built a state of the art cuverie and chai at Pichon-Longueville Baron, while, in 2000, Christian Seely took over from Jean-Michel Cazesas as general manager. Pichon-Longueville-Baron's 73-hectare vineyard (70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc, runs adjacent to that of Château Latour and lies on deep gravel beds.
The Cabernet-dominated Pichon-Longueville Baron is a more muscular, tannic and full-bodied wine than that of its neighbour across the road, Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. The grand vin is Chateau Longueville au Baron de Pichon-Longueville. The second wine is Les Tourelles de Longueville, introduced with the 1986 vintage. The best examples of Pichon-Longueville Baron have layer upon layer of unctuous, vanilla-scented, blackcurrant and cassis fruit, intermingled with cigar box and lead pencil shavings aromas. They require cellaring for at least 10 years.
Pauillac
Pauillac is the aristocrat of the Médoc boasting boasting 75 percent of the region’s First Growths and with Grand Cru Classés representing 84 percent of Pauillac's production.
For a small town, surrounded by so many familiar and regal names, Pauillac imparts a slightly seedy impression. There are no grand hotels or restaurants – with the honourable exception of the establishments owned by Jean-Michel Cazes – rather a small port and yacht harbour, and a dominant petrochemical plant.
Yet outside the town, , there is arguably the greatest concentration of fabulous vineyards throughout all Bordeaux, including three of the five First Growths. Bordering St Estèphe to the north and St Julien to the south, Pauillac has fine, deep gravel soils with important iron and marl deposits, and a subtle, softly-rolling landscape, cut by a series of small streams running into the Gironde. The vineyards are located on two gravel-rich plateaux, one to the northwest of the town of Pauillac and the other to the south, with the vines reaching a greater depth than anywhere else in the Médoc.
Pauillac's first growths each have their own unique characteristics; Lafite Rothschild, tucked in the northern part of Pauillac on the St Estèphe border, produces Pauillac's most aromatically complex and subtly-flavoured wine. Mouton Rothschild's vineyards lie on a well-drained gravel ridge and - with its high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon - can produce (in its best years) Pauillac's most decadently rich, fleshy and exotic wine.
Latour, arguably Bordeaux's most consistent First Growth, is located in southern Pauillac next to St Julien. Its soil is gravel-rich with superb drainage, and Latour's vines penetrate as far as five metres into the soil. It produces perhaps the most long-lived wines of the Médoc.
Recommended Châteaux
Ch. Lafite-Rothschild, Ch. Latour, Ch. Mouton-Rothschild, Ch. Pichon-Longueville Baron, Ch. Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Ch. Lynch-Bages, Ch. Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Ch, Pontet-Canet, Les Forts de Latour, Ch. Haut-Batailley, Ch. Batailley, Ch. Haut-Bages Libéral.
Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
Buying options
Add to wishlist
Description
From the grand plateau of Pichon Baron comes one of our favourites of the vintage. An intense show of dark juicy fruit, chocolate and a little bit of liquorice, this is a brooding, serious and savoury wine. The finish is refreshing and saline finish, indicative of the terroir, and the vintage. Beautifully in balance, the fruit was picked in the third week of October showing a “restrained ripeness”.
Berry Bros. & Rudd
wine at a glance
Delivery and quality guarantee