Château Pichon Baron 1995

A stylish, elegant, more restrained style of Pichon Baron, with less obvious new oak than usual, this deep ruby/purple-colored wine offers a pure black currant-scented nose with subtle aromas of coffee and smoky toasty oak. In the mouth, the wine displays less weight and muscle than the 1996, but it offers suave, elegant, rich fruit presented in a medium to full-bodied, surprisingly lush style. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2016.

Blackberry, with violet and currant undertones. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long finish. Still a little tight. Give it some time. This is layered and rich. Classy. A little better than I remember. — ’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2008.

Ripe yet fresh, with cedary and flinty blackberry and plum fruit lingering on.

Healthy crimson. There seems to be body and weight here on the nose but not that much flavour. Neat and well mannered with very resolved tannins. A very solid Pauillac if not the most soaring and inspired. (JR)

Stern, classic, old-school Pauillac, with a textbook nose of cedar, cassis, tobacco, and green pepper. Austere on the palate, as you would expect from most 1995 wines; at 22 years of age, this is not going to change. Two hours of air helped but didn’t cure all its ills. If you long for the days of lower ABV and a strict character, with some green, this will make your day.

Rather dark ruby red, with the first signs of maturity at the rim. The nose shows leather notes and warm, slightly truffle-like terroir nuances, subtly ethereal, also revealing a mineral-spicy sheen. It comes across as quite open and, underneath, conveys warm malt notes. On the palate it is meaty, nicely concentrated, and still shows some reserves. I liked it a lot. If decanted, it is at its early maturity. Seek it out and buy!

96: Barrel sample (17/20): smoky cassis bouquet, intense density, shows lots of drive and a fine, cedary spice. On the palate first nicely astringent, then increasingly refined, delicate tobacco notes in the extract, lovely length. During its drinking window it can reach 18/20 points for a few years. 02: Dark garnet with a delicate first hint of maturity. Peppery bouquet, elderberry notes, Havana touch, dark leather. Firm palate with generous tannins, shows plenty of volume and is now at its first drinking maturity. (18/20). 98: Roasty bouquet, leather notes, sultanas, heated grapes, fruit tea and red prunes. On the palate this warm tone continues, peach pit in the extraction, comes across a bit upfront and demanding, sandy, tannic flow. Should have more flesh and sweetness, the potential would be immense. Seems very closed at the moment. Can it kick on? (18/20). 05: From a double magnum at Mäggi Haller’s birthday. Deep, fairly dark garnet-purple. The nose is probably opening for the first time in this style, wavering between ripe Cabernet fruit and earthy-sweet terroir laced with fine truffles, lots of licorice, cassis, black tea, currants and noble fine woods. Very charming on the palate, despite tannins still wanting a bit more maturity, again in the black-fruit register, it feels elegant, almost slender, with rather Lafite-like affinities, fine finish. Fully bets on elegance. Decant for one hour. (18/20). 07: Dense, dark purple, first fine hint of maturity. Concentrated, deep Cabernet bouquet, tar nuances, truffle, licorice, still slightly reductive but carrying a packed load of terroir, its deep-seated aromatics show a certain Napa affinity. Meaty, muscular palate, extract still finely grained, gently bourgeois astringency, persistent finish. A brilliant wine, still cellarworthy, with a wild Cabernet touch. Not yet at peak drinking – so decant. 08: A magnum we obviously didn’t decant long enough. It’s not a finesse wine and shows character, core and flesh. Better to wait than to drink! (19/20). 11: The color was almost black. Started reductive and needed air to unfold, then black plums, underneath dried black trumpet mushrooms and Brazil tobacco. On the palate it seemed much younger than on the nose and showed discreet bitter notes in the extract. Extraction was pushed to the limit here. But it seems about to digest that. (19/20). 13: Powerful nose, now much more lactic than before. Lots of malt and blackberries on the palate. Somewhere inside I noticed a few sturdy tannins that I hadn’t felt as much earlier. If this trend continues in the next tastings, it will lose points. (19/20). 15: Quite dark wine-red, first rim of maturity. The nose shows leather notes and warm, slightly truffled terroir nuances, subtly ethereal, respectively also showing a mineral-spicy sheen. It comes across fairly open and conveys warm malt notes underneath. On the palate meaty, nicely concentrated and still showing some reserves. I liked it a lot. If you decant, it’s at its first drinking maturity. Seek and buy! (19/20). 18: An imperial bottle at Lucien and René’s birthday in Basel. Milky with plenty of blackberry fruit. As with the other wines, it didn’t last long – very popular.

Deep, dark, velvety bouquet, black berries, currants, mahogany, fine plum notes. Velvety, dense and multi-layered palate with plenty of fine tannins, a classic, powerful, muscular structure, dense, dark aromatics, and a long, full finish with good aftertastes. Can still improve. 18/20 drink - 2035

Plenty of spice, tannins, structure, frame, tobacco, cigar box, very much old-school undergrowth and pencil lead, slate, essence of Pauillac. A little soft through the mid-palate, with some chewy tannins on the finish, but you would be so happy to open and share this. Served from magnum. Don’t wait too long, but this is one to look out for right now. 80% new oak.

Plenty of character in this bouquet. It reveals hints of leather but is above all marked by notes of black berries, chocolate and spices. True to the bouquet, the palate also shows character! It is dense, powerful and needs air! With aeration, the tannins gain in silkiness and offer a fine backbone, ideally supported by the acidic structure. A great wine, in top form, that deserves at least 1 hour in a decanter.