Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron 2000

JEB DUNNUCK: "The best since the 1990, the 2000 Pichon-Longueville Baron is just now starting to shed some baby fat and develop additional complexity and layers. This still ruby/plum-colored beauty boasts a phenomenal nose of blackcurrants, tobacco leaf, lead pencil shavings, and new saddle leather. It’s deep, full-bodied, and sexy, with incredible amounts of texture and opulence that keeps you coming back to the glass. It makes a mockery of so many Bordeaux today that are made in a so-called elegant style yet lack the fat, richness, and density to ever hit this high a level. With low acidity, beautiful purity of fruit, sweet tannins, and a great finish, it’s in the early to middle range of its drink window (I love it today) and has another two decades of sensational drinking ahead. Readers wanting to know what truly great Bordeaux tastes like should open a bottle of this!"

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2000 Château Pichon Baron is just getting better and better and better. Perhaps the magnum format played its part, but nevertheless...just...wow. This is a millennial Left Bank with the keys to the top drawer. It has an incredibly precise, mineral-driven bouquet with intense black fruit infused with cedar and graphite scents. It just reeks of Pauillac in an almost uncompromising, yet compelling manner. The palate is structured, stylish and effortless, extraordinarily pure and unerringly youthful. This is a Pichon Baron saying, "You ain´t seen nothing yet." You could broach this now if you wanted, but the clever people will wisely bunker this for another decade and gloat from 2025 onward. Tasted January 2016."

WEINWISSER: "Dunkles, tiefes Weinrot, ganz zartoranger Rand. Intensives, sehr klassisches Bouquet, wunderschöne Cassissüsse, Teakholznoten, Schwarztee, Noblesse pur. Delikater Gaumen, extrem feine Gerbstoffe, seidig, alles ist reif und harmonisch, endloses Finale mit Rauch, Trüffel, getrockneten Heidelbeeren und Lakritze. Ganz nahe bei 20 Punkten."

JAMES SUCKLING: "A rich and spicy wine with lots of walnuts, dried berry and plum. Full and very savory. So much tobacco and sous bois. Roasted fruit too. Classic 2000. Drink now. "

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "This is a top bottle of Pichon that remains stuck in adolescence. Still, it is easy to see that with that difficult cocktail and resolve that is best mixed in a cold cellar, the wine is going to shine, once more of the tannins soft, and melt away. There is weight concentration, balance, freshness and layers of cassis that do not quit. But much of this beauty is being held in reserve. Give it until 2022 and lets talk about it then."

FALSTAFF: "Kräftiges Rubingranat, zarte Randaufhellung. Intensive Dörrobstanklänge, würzige Nuancen nach Bitumen, braucht einige Luft, um sich zu öffnen. Süß, straff, enormer Körper, wirkt noch etwas herrisch, präsente Tannine, zart blättriges Finale, braucht noch seine Zeit."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Dark blackish ruby, more orange than the Pichon Lalande colour. Warm, integrated nose. Dense and beautifully balanced. Pure Pauillac without recourse to pastiche. Much riper than Pichon Lalande but not overripe. Already broachable but with potential too. Good stuff!"

WINE SPECTATOR: "Rock-solid, with a block of currant, fig and blackberry paste notes forming the core, while youthful brambly-edged grip still holds sway throughout. Lots of enticing licorice root and sweet tobacco flavors wait in reserve, and there´s nice lift from a light savory hint at the very end. Still has a ways to go.--Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2028."

DECANTER: "On the nose, graphite notes combine with black fruit including prunes, which highlight its solar character, but a minty and floral freshness adds aromatic lift after aeration. Similar impression on the palate with a juicy yet elegant mouthfeel that has a tightly-wound yet harmonious structure. Now at its apogee."