2022 Chateau Pichon Baron Pauillac
97-99 Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast
"97-99 Barrel sample. This is already shaping up to being one of the stars of the vintage. With its great fruit, fully enveloped by the structure and tannins, the wine has been set well for the future. The aromatic black fruits are intense and concentrated. -RV"
96-98 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com
I loved the Grand Vin 2022 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, which is based on 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot that will spend 18 months in 70% new oak. It's not the most showy or exuberant 2022, yet it shines for its incredible class and purity, as well as balance. It has a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated profile (no surprise) with its focused, precise, inward style that still brings gorgeous depth and richness. Cassis, graphite, espresso roast, crushed stone and spring flowers are just some of its nuances, and where many 2022s are broad and mouth-filling, this stays tight, compact, and focused, with a wonderful mix of elegance, concentration, and richness. The 2022 is pulled from 48% of the total production, and it's going to warrant 7-8 years of bottle age and have 50+ years of overall longevity.
96-98 Antonio Galloni - Vinous
The 2022 Pichon Baron is marvelous. It continues a series of vintages that have been absolutely compelling. Bright red-toned fruit, spice, rose petal and blood orange lend considerable brightness throughout. More than anything else, the 2022 impresses with its precision and magnificent balance.
98 Jeff Leve - The Wine Cellar Insider
With a solid depth of color, the wine jumps from the glass with its show display of licorice, black fruits, lead pencil, currants, lavender, cocoa, and spice in the aromatics. The show-stopping palate is rich, intense, long, concentrated, spicy, and most importantly, concentrated and pure. While your palate bathes in the wine, the sensation is all about its freshness, purity and length. The first vintage produced with the efforts of the estates new Technical Director, Pierre Montegut is a resounding success. This is clearly one of the best vintages in the history of Pichon Baron! The wine blends 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot. 14.3% ABV, 3.63 pH. The harvest took place September 8 - October 3. Yields were 34 hectoliters per hectare. 48% of the harvest went into the Grand Vin. Drink from 2028-2065
98 Peter Moser - Falstaff
Deep dark ruby in colour with an inky, opaque core, purple reflections, and subtle brightening on the rim. On the nose, a multi-faceted bouquet of ripe dark wild berries, a touch of fine oak, floral nuances, and subtle hints of strawberry. The palate is powerful and full of finesse, with ripe dark forest berry and cherry fruit, pronounced, integrated tannins and mineral notes with nougat on the lingering, slightly saline finish, worth laying down for many years to come.
96-97 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com
A very structured and racy PB with blackcurrant, stone and black cherry aromas and flavors. Medium to full body with racy and fine tannins that are precise and focused. Elegance with structure. 81% cabernet sauvignon and 19% merlot.
95-97 William Kelley - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
An unusually gourmand, sensual wine from this estate, the 2022 Pichon-Longueville Baron bursts with aromas of crème de cassis, sweet dark berries, licorice, lilac and pencil shavings. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and velvety, with excellent concentration and a rather rich, supple profile. A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, it's the result of sub-block by sub-block picking and cooler than usual fermentation temperatures.
97 Georgina Hindle - Decanter
Beautiful fragrance, lots of fresh and ripe black and red bramble fruit - so alive and expressive on the nose with liquorice, wet stones and cedar spicing. Smooth, ample and full in the mouth, but not overly textured or plush. There’s a real refinement to the tannic structure, clearly giving the frame to the wine but detailed and precise with edges of liquorice, slate, dark chocolate, cedar and tobacco. It balances richness, intensity and concentration with sleekness, bright acidity and a real charm to the juicy fruit. Rich and tense, just giving a hint of it’s potential, clearly powerful but totally seductive too. A sublime wine in the making. Ageing 18 months in French oak, 70% new, 600% one wine.
95-97 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent
The 2022 Pichon Baron, 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, is deep garnet-purple in color. It swans out with gregarious notions of blackcurrant jelly, baked black plums, and Morello cherries, giving way to hints of lavender, cedar chest, and cumin seed plus a touch of cinnamon. The medium-bodied palate is tightly wound with bright, bold, black and red berry layers, complemented by firm, grainy tannins and impressive tension, finishing long and savory/spicy. It will need time, but promises to be amazing.
96-97 Jonathan Choukroun - Vert de Vin
A pretty elegant nose, powerful (controlled), frank in elegance, which offers a certain straightness and harmony. It expresses notes of boysenberry, small dense black fruits and more slightly – graphite, associated with touches of quite ripe wild strawberries and small touches of delicate and delicious roast, as well as a hint of cornflower, violet, lily, racy gravel as well as a fine hint of bergamot, camphor and discreet hints of sweet spices. The palate is nicely structured, elegant, fresh and offers tension, accuracy, elegance, power in elegance/finesse, subtlety, lovely energy and mineral purity. It expresses notes of pulpy/juicy blackberry, fresh/pulp raspberry and more slightly – bright/fresh cherry associated with touches of toast, nutmeg as well as a hint of racy minerality, a hint of fresh blond tobacco, salinity, as well as a subtle almost sap/floral hint in the background which carries the fruit. A lovely freshness and a fine delicate maceration side. The tannins are elegant, supple and soft.
