2016 Chateau Pichon-Baron - 2eme Cru Classe Pauillac

Decanter.com – 100 pts – YC: *Pichon Baron 2016 is a riveting, classy wine, richly aromatic and expressive from the start with a complex bouquet of black cherry, liquorice, graphite, menthol and subtle spices. The palate combines fleshy texture and linearity. The fine-grained tannins have the laser-like precision that Christian Seely likes so much, and contribute to the overall impression of crystalline purity so conducive to the terroir expression of this benchmark wine destined to reach new heights over the next 20 to 30 years. Magnificent wine.* - 12/2021

Falstaff Magazin - 96pts - PM: *Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, dezente Randaufhellung, intensive schwarze Beerenfrucht, Brombeernuancen, dunkle Kirschen, zarter Schokoanklang, zart nach frischen Orangenzesten, kraftvoll, stoffig, verfügt über gute Extraktsüße, feine, präsente Tannine, dabei finessenreich strukturiert, sehr große Länge, ein Hauch von Mokka im Nachhall, sicheres Reifepotenzial, klarer Fall von Vin de Garde.* - 05/2017

Vinum Magazin – 19/20pts: *Zurückhaltende, aber viel versprechende Aromatik, Blüten und Beeren; frisch bereits im Auftakt, langsame, fruchtige Entwicklung, superbes, feinkörniges Tannin, grosse Länge; Fruchtigkeit, Eleganz und Rasse in Reinkultur.* - 06/2019

Weinwisser - 19/20pts - GL: *85 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 15 % Merlot, 45 % Grand Vin, 80 % neue Barriques. Dichtes Purpur mit satter Mitte und violettem Rand. Komplexes, blaubeeriges Bouquet mit Brombeeren und Lakritze, dahinter Veilchen und erkalteter Früchtetee. Am kräftigen Gaumen mit engmaschigem Tanningerüst, ein Powerpack mit massivem, reifem Tannin. Eine konzentrierte Ansammlung von schwarzer Frucht mit viel Holunder und Schlehensaft – da ist Munition drin, mit einem langen, lauten Finale endend. Jean- René Matignon sieht Parallelen zum Jahrgang 2010, aber mit weniger Alkohol, hat die Rasse wie beim Jahrgang 1986 (übrigens sein 1. Jahrgang) mit mehr Präzision und klarerer Frucht. Es war wie 2003 eine langsame Reife der Trauben, aber zum Glück ohne die Hitze. Aus den alten Rebstöcken des Cabernet Sauvignon gekeltert! Könnte auch ein 2000er sein mit mehr Frische!*

JancisRobinson.com – 18+/20pts – JL: *85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot. Aged 18 months in oak barrels (80% new). Deep crimson hue. Bright and lifted with dark-fruit and graphite notes. Lovely fruit on the palate, so fresh and poised. Big tannic frame but subdued power. Precise, balanced and long. One for the ages.* - 03/2023

JamesSuckling.com - (98-99)pts - JS: *I have been waiting for this for a long time. It’s a remake of the legendary 1990 Pichon Baron. Full body, ultra-polished yet powerful tannins and a glorious finish. The will evolve beautifully. The core of fruit and tannins are great. A truly great Pichon Baron.* - 04/2017
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JamesSuckling.com – 99 pts – JS: *The concentration and largesse of the 2016 Pichon Baron is apparent from the get-go with incredibly alluring, ripe and expansive fruit aromas in the blackberry, dark-cherry, mulberry and plum zone. Espresso and cedar, as well as a slate-like, stony mineral edge add complexity. The palate has incredible depth, drive and detail. Fine and plush tannins stretch the palate in every direction. So fresh and vivacious, this is the greatest Pichon Baron since 1989 and has a long future. Try from 2024.* -12/2019

Vinous.com – 96 pts - AG: *The 2016 Pichon Baron is seamless and racy from start to finish. Sensual and super-expressive, with soft contours, silky tannins and exceptional finesse, Pichon Baron is one of the more accessible wines in its peer group today. Plum, mocha, leather, spice and chocolate all build effortlessly. As outstanding as Pichon Baron is, the 2016 gives the impression it is playing things safe. It would be nice to see a little more daring and risk.* - 012019

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - (96-98)pts - NM: *The 2016 Pichon-Longueville Baron is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot picked between 3 and 18 October at 39 hectoliters per hectare for estate (therefore the Grand Vin will be less). It is matured in 80% new oak and 20% one year old for 18 months. It has a very intense, extremely pure bouquet with blackberry, bilberry, cedar and graphite notes; it is a straight-down-the-fairway Pauillac. The palate is medium-bodied with a very tensile opening, that seam of graphite penetrating the black fruit. There is a wonderful structure here, unapologetically classic in style with just the right amount of austerity on the aristocratic finish. The aftertaste is incredibly long, lingering after two or three minutes in the mouth. This is a majestic Pichon-Baron and it may well to surpass both the 2009 or 2010.* - 04/2017
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Vinous.com – 96pts - NM: *The 2016 Pichon-Longueville Baron electrifies the olfactory sense with a stunning bouquet of intense blackberry, cedar and graphite aromas that are quintessential Pauillac. Over a few minutes, it blossoms in the glass, gaining more and more depth. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly tarry black fruit, cedar and truffle, dovetailing into a saline, peppery finish that leaves the tongue tingling. Christian Seely and his team have imbued recent vintages of this Pauillac with unerring symmetry, and the 2016 can be added to the canon of triumphs.* - 01/2019