Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron 2025

Falstaff: Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Reife schwarze Herzkirschen, feines Cassis, ein Hauch von Edelholz, zarter Nougat, tabakige Nuancen, einladendes Bukett. Straff, engmaschig, reife Kirschenfrucht, extraktsüße Textur, feine Tannine, frisch strukturiert, mineralisch-zitronige Nuancen im Abgang, zeigt Energie und Länge, sicheres Reifepotenzial."

Vinum: Im Bouquet deutlich stiller als die Zweitweine, doch stille Wasser sind tief; dunkelfruchtig mit feiner Kräuternote, vielen Veilchenblüten, dazu auch etwas Süssholz, der Gaumen ist konzentriert, dicht, kompakt, Massen an Gerbstoff von höchster Güte halten das Fruchtbündel in Schach, die Säure verleiht Trinkfluss, trägt den Wein in einen fast nicht enden wollenden, mineralisch geprägten Abgang. Ein monumentaler Baron voller Frische."

The Wine Cellar Insider: The complex aromatic profile expresses flowers, black currants, licorice, black cherries, cocoa, espresso, cigar wrappers, and a touch of mint. The palate delivers a beautiful combination of vitality, sweetness, energy, and purity in the fruits. The long, vibrant finish is packed with layers of fruits. Yet, even with all the concentration, there is an elegance, and regal charm meshed with power. The endnotes continue expanding, and building long after the wine has left the glass. This modern classic will be great with just 3-5 years of bottle age. It also has the potential to age and evolve for 3 - 4 decades. The vintage was shaped in large part by daily tastings of the berries in each parcel, and even single rows of vines, seeking the best moment to pick. Another factor was which tanks to use for fermentations as well as what parcels went into specific tanks due to the vintages low yields. The wine blends 84% Cabernet Sauvignon with 16% Merlot. 13.3% ABV, 3.72 pH. The harvest took place September 8 - September 24. This marks the earliest start for a harvest in the history of the estate. Yields were quite low at 24 hectoliters per hectare. The wine is aging in 70% new, French oak barrels. Drink from 2032-2070."

Jane Anson: Restrained power, elegant fine grained tannins, gentle extraction at 26C, rosebuds evident. This has clear Pauillac character, coupled with the finesse and drinkability of the vintage. Again the anis and slate that I have seen in a number of the best wines this year. Very impressive. 70% new oak. 3.72 pH, 24hl/ha, 2nd year in a row with such low yields."

Wine Advocate: A brilliant achievement, the 2025 Pichon-Longueville Baron, a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot (70% new oak), features a notably high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon for a warm vintage, exceeding that of 2020 and 2022. It reveals a refined bouquet of dark wild berries, cassis, spice, lead pencil and licorice. Medium- to full-bodied, dense and concentrated, it’s built around a fleshy, finely structured core of fruit with a distinctly Cabernet-driven profile, combining freshness and tension with notable depth. It should age gracefully over the next two to three decades."

Decanter: Dark berry fruit aromas. Ripe and grippy, this takes hold straight away with upfront tannins making their mark, covering the mouth in a fine layer of chalkiness but with a cool, wet stone element too. So mineral, very transparent in terms of terroir expression. Lithe and focused, there’s tension as well as. You can feel the muscles of the Cabernet but there’s a slightly chew and juiciness behind the tannin wall. Very precise, with meticulous detail to the tannins, fruit, and cooling acidity. Sophisticated and very enjoyable, if more tense at this point than some others. Blueberry and plum and fresh mint. There’s a real delicacy, pixelated aspect to the overall expression - grand and majestic. Harvest started on 8 September. 3.72pH."

Jeb Dunnuck: A Cabernet-dominant blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Merlot that will spend 18 months in 70% new barrels with the balance in once-used oak, the 2025 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron sports a deep purple hue as well as a ripe bouquet of cassis, blueberries, crushed stone, and liquid violets. On the palate, it's full-bodied, with a round, layered, sexy mouthfeel, tons of fruit, ripe tannins, and outstanding length. Checking in at 13.3% alcohol with a pH of 3.72, it's one of the more sunny, voluptuous, sexy wines in the vintage."

Lisa Perrotti-Brown: Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2025 Pichon Baron is a little closed and broody to start off, soon opening up to reveal notes of warm cassis, boysenberry preserves, graphite, and black raspberries, plus suggestions of charcoal, black olives, and violets. The medium-bodied palate shimmers with energetic black and blue fruit layers, supported by ripe, fine-grained tannins and fantastic tension, finishing long and perfumed. The blend is 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Merlot. It has a pH of 3.72 and the alcohol is 13.3%. It is aging in French oak barriques, 80% new, for 18 months."

James Suckling: A very structured red with intense tannins, finishing polished and refined. It's medium-to-full-bodied with super creamy tannins and a long finish. Granular tannins."