2020 Chateau Pichon-Baron - 2eme Cru Classe Pauillac

Decanter.com – 98 pts – GH: *Gentle and delicately aromatic but rich too, full of coffee, mocha, dark chocolate, caramel and medicinal herbs - mint and aniseed with a combination of red, blue and black berry fruits. Lovely density and weight on the palate, really very tannic but wide with an aerated effect so it doesn't feel at all heavy with a bright juiciness and extremely long length. The tannins make the first impression with a velvet texture and chalky minerality but it’s clean and the fruit has a crystalline purity that gives a sleek and direct overall impression. Generous, elegant and refined yet still not showing its best.* - 01/2023

Falstaff Magazin – 95 pts – PM: *Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, tiefer Kern, zarte Randaufhellung. Feines Cassis, schwarze Kirschen, floraler Touch, ein Hauch von Edelholz, etwas Velours, vielschichtiges Bukett. Straff und frisch, rotbeerige Nuancen, lebendig und mit festen, reifen Tanninen ausgestattet, dunkles Nugat im Abgang, zeigt Länge und Potenzial, mineralisch-salziger Nachhall, engmaschig und langlebig. (2028–2060)* - 02/2023

Vinum Magazin – 18/20pts: *Sehr zurückhaltend; von perfekt gemeistertem Ausdruck, muskulös, aber ohne Fett, grosse Spannkraft, Länge und Rasse, ganz dem Primeureindruck entsprechend.* - 07/2023

WeinWisser – 19/20 pts – GL, TW: *Komplexes Bouquet, schwarze Johannisbeere, dunkles Ebenholz und Schokopastillen. Am sublimen Gaumen mit weicher Textur, balancierter Rasse, engmaschigem Tanningerüst und muskulösem Körper. Im konzentrierten Finale Wildkirsche, edle Cassiswürze, eine volle Ladung Graphit und feinspröde Adstringenz. Dieser Muskelprotz muss gezähmt werden. Trinkfenster um ein paar Jahre nach hinten angepasst. Die Formkurve zeigt hier weiter nach oben.* – 03/2023

JancisRobinson.com – 18+/20pts – JL: *76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot. Aged 18 months in oak barrels (70% new). Similar lines to 2019 but a bit more voluptuous. Deep colour. Suave and creamy on the nose with blackcurrant notes to the fore. Generous fruit on the palate but freshness and length as well. Firm tannins but wrapped in fruit so no aggression. Smooth and persistent.* - 03/2023

Vinous.com – 98 pts – AG: *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.* - 12/2022

Vinous.com – 97 pts – NM: *As I found before, the 2020 Pichon Baron takes a while to open in the glass. Finally, it offers enticing blackberry and boysenberry fruit, peony and iris flower, hints of graphite and black truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, again, displaying outstanding symmetry and focus, fresh as a daisy with a strong and mineral-driven finish. Christian Seely and his team have overseen a splendid Pichon Baron for the ages. Blue-blooded Pauillac.* - 12/2022

Thewinecellarinsider.com – 98 pts – JL: *With an intensity of color that matches the intensity you taste, and feel, here you find a wine that coats your palate with its multiple layers of rich, dark, deep, black, and dark red fruits coupled with smoke, tobacco, Cuban cigars, spice, dark chocolate, and burning oak embers. This incredible wine is perfectly poised on the corner 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.* - 05/2023