Château Pichon Longueville Baron 2013

The history of this famous Second Growth estate dates back to the Grand Siecle - “Great Century” - of France during the reign of Louis XIV.  The first vineyard plots of this property were close to Château Latour in the left bank appellation of Pauillac.

Château Pichon de Longueville Baron (affectionately shortnamed Pichon Baron, vs its sister chateau Pichon Comtesse) is home to terroir that is considered a “winegrower’s paradise”.  Over the years, the vignerons at the estate have learned to nurture their precious vines, yielding highly concentrated and ripe fruit.  Production has been cut in half throughout the decades and the winemaking team at Pichon Baron has no qualms sacrificing quantity to ensure the quality of their wine.  Perhaps it is the close proximity to the terroir of the First Growth powerhouse, Château Latour, that lends these wines the perfect balance of strength and refinement that is so often associated with the gems of Pauillac.  Some of the best vintages are massively extracted, flamboyant wines -- with aromas of cassis, tobacco, and cedar.  Due to their incredible fortitude, these wines have the ageing potential to last for decades.

"The 2013 Pichon-Longueville Baron is definitely one of the better Pauillacs of the vintage, although it does not quite hurdle over the obstacles placed by the growing season with the ease I thought it would. Blackberry, cedar and a touch of chimney soot here, good fruit intensity for the vintage with fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp acidity, quite compact in the mouth, linear and masculine with a slightly austere but fresh, short finish. Not bad at all, though Christian Seely has overseen wines in a different league from this in recent years." - Neal Martin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (10/28/2016, Issue 227), Ratings: 89, Drink: 2018-2028