Château PICHON BARON 2021

Description

Yves Beck 97-99 points www.yvesbeck.wine
88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot
Que d’éclat, que d’élégance, que de pluralité dans ce bouquet marqué par la fraîcheur et les notes fruitées complétées par des notes florales et épicées. Savant accord de légères nuances de torréfaction, d’eucalyptus, de cassis et de bois de réglisse. L’attaque se distingue par une multitude de sensations gustatives variant entre douceur, salinité et fruit. Les tannins, d’une rare finesse et d’une incroyable précision créent la symbiose avec le vif tempérament de la structure. Pichon Baron 2021 peut se targuer de faire partie des très grandes réussites du millésime. Et que d’avenir dans ce vin… il dispose de tous les éléments nécessaires à une longue garde, à une très longue garde !

Jean-Marc Quarin 96 points www.quarin.com
Couleur sombre, pourpre, soutenue et belle. Nez intense, fin, fruité, pur et subtil, évoluant fumé à l’agitation du verre. Texture très minutieuse dès l’entrée en bouche. Puis le vin se met à prendre du gras au bout de 3 secondes. Il monte, monte, complexe, savoureux, long, profond, avec beaucoup de goût. Finale fraîche, à la tannicité présente et enrobée. Assemblage : 88 % cabernet sauvignon, 12 % merlot. C’est un record pour le cabernet sauvignon. C’était 87 % en 2019. Degré d’alcool : 12°9 – pH : 3,65. Rendement : 20 hl/ha. Vendanges du 27/09 au 7/10.

Antonio Galloni 95-97 www.vinous.com
The 2021 Pichon-Baron is a dense, packed wine, its mid-weight structure notwithstanding. There is a lot of wine here, but readers have to be patient. Red-toned fruit, blood orange, mint, rose petal and cinnamon add layers of nuance, but more than anything else, the 2021 stands out for its persistence.

Georgina Hindle 95 points  www.decanter.com (at Bordeaux, 01 Apr 2022)
The highest proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon ever in the blend at 88% completed by 12% Merlot. Cool red and blue fruits on the nose, smells so welcoming with blueberry, vanilla and cola notes. A soft succulence straight away so you know there is good acidity but the structure and the delicate tannins take over and fill the mouth, giving great Cabernet savoury and herbal aspects, filling and expansive while delivering the crystalline purity on the tongue in terms of texture. Tannins are so fine, but this is rich in its depth yet still so focussed and straight. The mid palate has weight but there’s such drive and energy. The lick of stone is welcoming, giving the salinity and yet another element to taste and contemplate. Mighty, thrilling and a joy to taste. Elegant and classic in the best way – this will need some time but will be excellent.

William Kelley 94-96+ points www.erobertparker.com
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.

Neal Martin 93-95 www.vinous.com
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.