Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron 2016

JAMES SUCKLING: "The concentration and largesse of the 2016 Pichon Baron is apparent from the get-go with incredibly alluring, ripe and expansive fruit aromas in the blackberry, dark-cherry, mulberry and plum zone. Espresso and cedar, as well as a slate-like, stony mineral edge add complexity. The palate has incredible depth, drive and detail. Fine and plush tannins stretch the palate in every direction. So fresh and vivacious, this is the greatest Pichon Baron since 1989 and has a long future. Try from 2024."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Deep in color, the nose entices you with tobacco, smoke, crème de cassis, forest floor and burnt wood. The wine offers depth, concentration and richness, with length and character. The wine is full bodied, rich, multi-layered and multi faceted. This is a cellar worthy stunner that demands 10-15 years of age before you want to pull a cork, but patience is going to be a virtue here."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Pichon-Longueville Baron offers a suave and seductive nose of warm red and black currants, black plum preserves, truffles, tapenade and rose hip tea with touches of sandalwood and Chinese five spice plus a waft of iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, firmly structured and packed with mineral and exotic spice-laced black fruits, it finishes very long with compelling herbal sparks."

WEINWISSER: "Aus dem grossen klassischen Jahrgang zeigt der Wein eine wunderbare Pauillac- Nase mit Graphit, dunklen Beeren, Cassis und eine an Liebstöckel und Tabak erinnernde Würze. Das Barriquefett ist schon sehr schön eingebunden. Komplexer und präziser als 2017. Am Gaumen mit saftiger Dichte, tiefwürzig verwoben, sehr lang, tief und nachhaltig."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2016 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron is beauty and is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot that was brought up in 80% new French oak. Tasting like a hypothetical mix of the 2009 and 2010, its deep purple color is followed by a powerful yet sensationally pure bouquet of crème de cassis, blackberries, lead pencil shavings, and graphite, and is just about as quintessentially Pauillac as it gets. Full-bodied, fleshy and even a touch flamboyant, it has sweet tannins and a monster texture that coats the palate. Count me in as a huge fan. This fabulous wine will be relatively approachable in just 3-5 years but will age for 30 years or more."

DECANTER: "There's no question that we are in Pauillac with this wine: it's a deep, dark purple in colour and a little more reserved on the nose than some, with more of that pencil-lead and slate character. The texture is almost as important as the flavour, and it shows its quality. This is all cassis, wet stone and loganberry, and conveys heft rather than sinew. It tightens through the mid-palate to the point that it contracts - a serious wine. Matured in 80% new oak."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, dezente Randaufhellung, intensive schwarze Beerenfrucht, Brombeernuancen, dunkle Kirschen, zarter Schokoanklang, zart nach frischen Orangenzesten, kraftvoll, stoffig, verfügt über gute Extraktsüße, feine, präsente Tannine, dabei finessenreich strukturiert, sehr große Länge, ein Hauch von Mokka im Nachhall, sicheres Reifepotenzial, klarer Fall von Vin de Garde."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This gushes with dark fig and black currant compote flavors backed by lively sweet tobacco and singed alder edges. Very fleshy in feel, though there's ample grip to keep this red grounded, echoing with tar and humus accents through the finish. A thumper. Best from 2025 through 2040."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Dark and lustrous. Proper earthy red bordeaux nose. Suave texture and with lots in reserve. This is quite a wine. Sculpted to within an inch of its life but it should pay dividends in the future. Very dry, St-Estèphe-like stony finish. Needs a lot of time."