Tasting Notes
Antonio Galloni 96
The 2016 Pichon Baron is seamless and racy from start to finish. Sensual and super-expressive, with soft contours, silky tannins and exceptional finesse, Pichon Baron is one of the more accessible wines in its peer group today. Plum, mocha, leather, spice and chocolate all build effortlessly. As outstanding as Pichon Baron is, the 2016 gives the impression it is playing things safe. It would be nice to see a little more daring and risk.
Anticipated maturity: 2026-2041
Neal Martin 96
The 2016 Pichon Baron is outstanding, powerful on the nose with blackberry, mocha and just a hint of dark chocolate that emerges after an hour. The palate is weighty in the mouth but delivers real elegance, graphite-tinged black fruit fanning out gloriously on the finish. It is probably three years away from when I would advise opening bottles.
Anticipated maturity: 2028-2055
Wine Advocate 97
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.
Anticipated maturity: 2022-2057
Jeff Leve 99
With a tannic, racy edge to all the fresh, ripe, sweet, fleshy, currants on the palate, the wine kicks off with espresso, tobacco leaf, currants, black cherries, cigar box, underbrush, red fruits, and chalk. Simply put, this is fabulous! The tannins are perfectly ripe giving you the structure to show off all the layers of supple, textured, fresh, pure, racy fruits. The seamless finish grabs your palate and keeps it. This is in contention as the finest vintage of Pichon Baron produced by Jean Rene Matignon. Drink from 2022-2060.
Anticipated maturity: 2022-2060
The Wine Independent 96+
Deep and dark, offering a classic Pauillac nose of cedar and bitterness the 2016 Pichon Baron, is well built but a bit closed at the moment. It offers a powerful and classic taste with lots of stamina and fruit – impressive and still young with unresolved tannins and a long and deep aftertaste. It will benefit from another 5-8 years of cellaring and provide great drinking for the next 25+ years.
Anticipated maturity: 2025-2055
