Château Pichon Baron 2020

Very restrained; with perfectly controlled expression, muscular but without fat, great tension, length and pedigree, exactly as per the en primeur impression.

This has a very large-scaled yet properly proportioned core of cassis, plum and blackberry fruit flavors that are remarkably pure and focused. Buried deep within is a sleek, vibrant iron spine that drives the finish as the fruit keeps pace. Extra savory, tobacco and cedar nuances fill out all the remaining available space. A towering wine, with a buttoned-up feel. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2030 through 2045. 12,404 cases made, 550 cases imported.

Gentle and delicately aromatic but also rich, full of coffee, mocha, dark chocolate, caramel and medicinal herbs—mint and aniseed—together with a mix of red, blue and black berry fruits. Lovely density and weight on the palate, really very tannic but broad, with an aerated feel that keeps it from feeling heavy, bright juiciness and extremely long length. The tannins lead, with a velvety texture and chalky minerality, yet it’s clean and the fruit has a crystalline purity that gives a sleek, direct overall impression. Generous, elegant and refined, yet still not showing its best.

Fabulous aromas of blackcurrant, blueberry, crushed stone, graphite and lead pencil. Some violets and other flowers, too. Full-bodied with incredibly encompassing tannins that are like the finest velvet in texture. The structure is superb, with so much tension and focus. Seamless. This could be the new 1990 or better. Try after 2028.

The 2020 Pichon Baron is every bit as magnificent as it was en primeur. A wine of vertical intensity and explosive power, the 2020 offers up an exotic mix of dark red/black fruit, espresso, licorice, menthol, gravel and dried herbs. This potent, driving Pauillac needs time to come together. It marries the fruit intensity of a warm year with the driving energy of a cool year. The 2020 is a gorgeous Pichon Baron.

With a color intensity that matches what you taste and feel, here is a wine that coats the palate with multiple layers of rich, dark, deep black and dark red fruits, coupled with smoke, tobacco, Cuban cigars, spice, dark chocolate, and glowing oak embers. This incredible wine is perfectly poised at the intersection of power and intensity, with an almost endless, seamless, regal, and refined finish. This is clearly going to be one of the all-time great vintages of Pichon Baron. Drink from 2028–2065.

Deep dark ruby garnet, purple reflections, deep core, delicate rim brightening. Fine cassis, black cherries, floral touch, a touch of noble wood, some leather, multilayered bouquet. Taut and fresh, red berry nuances, lively and endowed with firm, ripe tannins, dark nougat on the finish, shows length and certain ageing potential, mineral-salty finish, tight-knit and long-lived. (2028-2060).

Densely structured, with muscular tannins that confidently hold the cassis and blackberry fruits in check and load up on the Pauillac character. This is great quality, full of liquorice, gunpowder tea and grilled cocoa bean set against plump black fruits and a mouthwateringly fresh finish with eucalyptus and slate. Will be bottled in June 2020 (and go into vat a few months earlier), but will easily need 6 to 8 years in bottle to fully soften. 80% new oak, 48% of overall production, 30hl/ha yield. Harvest September 14 to 30.

A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot, the 2020 Pichon Baron is deep garnet-purple in color. It gallops out of the glass with powerful notes of crème de cassis, blackberry pie, and licorice, followed by suggestions of rose petals, Indian spices, and cedar chest with a touch of mocha. The medium-bodied palate is elegant and fresh with fine-grained tannins supporting the bright black fruits, finishing long and perfumed.

A dark, deep bouquet—pure and opulent—with ripe fruit, evoking the sensation of sinking into a pile of plush cushions. With a dense, finely grained texture on the palate, this is a perfectly balanced wine despite its immense power. Cellar it if you can resist the call of its delicious, indulgent finish.

Pichon Baron 2020 was aged for 18 months in 70% new barrels and 30% one-wine barrels. Production accounts for 48% of the estate’s 73 hectares. A personality is tasked with meeting expectations. Admittedly, it’s a double-edged sword, especially for a winegrowing product when climatic and human variables are only predictable to a limited extent. Pichon Baron presents itself with its usual serenity. The oak is present, but merely as a companion, while classic nuances of graphite and black berries quickly take the lead. The precision on display is breathtaking, almost disconcerting, as we find the markers that have made this one of Bordeaux’s greatest wines! Perhaps even of the universe and beyond, but let’s keep our feet on the ground—and since that’s where it is too, we might as well stay there. A dazzling wine in its completeness, its relevance and, ultimately, its persistence, ideally underpinned by refreshing, structuring acidity. A great wine for aging!

96–98. Barrel Sample. The wine has both the power and the elegant structure that is associated with this estate. The rich tannins are dense while not hard, emphasizing the freshness of the black currant fruits.