Fabulous aromas of blackcurrant, blueberry, crushed stone, graphite and lead pencil. Some violets and other flowers, too. Full-bodied with incredibly encompassing tannins that are like the finest velvet in texture. The structure is superb, with so much tension and focus. Seamless. This could be the new 1990 or better. Try after 2028.

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.

The flagship 2020 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron is pure gold, a full-bodied, rich, powerful 2020 displaying the vintage's purity, focus, and structure front and center. A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot, its dense purple hue is followed by a mammoth-sized bouquet of cassis, blackberries, smoked earth, graphite, and cedar pencil. With ripe tannins, a seamless, layered mouthfeel, and one heck of a finish, it comes closest in my mind to the estate 2010, and I think is clearly in the same realm as the 1989, 1990, 2000, 2009, 2010, 2015, and 2019. It offers pleasure today, but it certainly warrants 7-8 years, a decade if possible, of bottle age and will have 40-50 years of overall longevity.

The brilliant 2020 Pichon-Longueville Baron offers up inviting aromas of sweet berries and cassis mingled with pipe tobacco, loamy soil, pencil shavings and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, its velvety attack segues into a concentrated mid-palate that's framed by rich, powdery tannins, concluding with a long, vibrant finish. A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot, it's a true classic that's a touch less demonstrative out of the gates than the sensual 2019, but which in the fullness of time will prove every bit as good.

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.

Tasted by Jane Anson(at Primeur week tastings in Bordeaux, 01 May 2021)
Part of Best Pauillac 2020 wines tasted en primeur

Intense, concentrated, rippling with power while still delivering finesse. A muscular Pichon Baron, layered with liquorice and chocolate shavings. Unmistakably Pauillac, and hugely Cabernet dominant, with savoury spice notes of grilled cumin and the same muscular, saline-backed tannins that you find in Les Griffons, just here with more definition and depth. 70% new oak for 18 months, 48% of overall production. Harvest September 14 to 30. Yields on the old vines here just above 30hl/ha.

Drinking Window 2029 - 2048

The 2020 Pichon-Longueville Baron is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot aging for an estimated 18 months in French oak barrels, 70% new. The production of the grand vin represents 48% of the harvest this year. Opaque purple-black in color, it comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant notions of blackberry pie, preserved plums and crème de cassis, plus suggestions of Chinese five spice, chocolate mint, graphite and cedar chest with a touch of violets. The medium-bodied palate is built like a brick house, featuring firm, ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness to support the taut, muscular black fruits, finishing long and spicy. 2027 - 2052

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, May 2021

(76% CS, 24% M; 48% harvest; 13.7% ABV; 70% new)
Very gravelly behind the freshly ripe black fruit on the nose; full, vigorous, finely tannic, an ample but vital constitution; dense and deep and ripe in flavor, the dark, ripe fruit brightened by its acidity, long and even and tenacious within the currently slightly grippy tannin; an effortless, even, classic, fine Pauillac with great fruit and aroma length. Upright, ample, finely muscular Pauillac, a wine of class, scope, and effortless power. Will certainly need time to loosen up and yield and meld. 2034–54+. WOFW

76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot. Cask sample. Deep crimson hue. Powerful and reserved, the nose dark and restrained with just a nip of vanilla oak and spice. Dense, firm and persistent on the palate, a massive tannic frame heightened by acidity. Powerful and brooding. Will definitely need time. (JL)

76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot. Black core and purple rim. Refined, dark, pure cassis fruit with the impression of dark, crushed rocks from the slightly charry oak. For such a young wine, open and scented. Bone dry but not at all drying. Elegant, layered tannins. The freshness is sufficient but not notable, though the tannins really do add freshness here. Lingering, dry, refined finish. (JH)

Cask sample. This has all the succulence and richness that is missing from their Griffons. Complete, balanced, smooth and perfumed to finish, with long floral fragrance. Lives up to its reputation. (RH)