CHÂTEAU PICHON LONGUEVILLE BARON

Enjoyable, softening in structure even at four years old, with an enticing grilled quality to the blueberry and blackberry fruit. Less concentrated than the 2016 vintage, as is typical for the 2017s even in a muscular appellation such as Pauillac, but with charm and finesse, and supple tannins. Crushed mint leaf character on the finish adds to the feeling of a well-handled, confident wine. 80% new oak, 30hl/h yield (not because oft the frost that affected many in the vintage, but because of their low-yielding 60-year-old Cabernet vines). Drinking range: 2027 - 2048 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Dec 2021)

The 2017 Pichon-Baron has developed into a potent wine, even by its own standards. Black cherry, plum, chocolate, grilled herbs, licorice, new leather and spice all flesh out in a succulent Pauillac that shows the racier personality of the year. In the glass, Pichon is dark, racy and sumptuous as it so often is, with terrific density and explosive energy. Today, I see less of the aromatic brilliance the wine showed en primeur; perhaps that will come with time. The 2017 spent 18 months in 80% new oak. Drinking range: 2025 - 2042 Rating: 94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Mar 2020)

The 2017 Pichon-Baron was picked from 18 September with the Merlot, finishing on 3 October with the Cabernet Sauvignon, matured in 80% new oak for 20 months. It has a crisp, precise and tightly wound bouquet, although the aromatics feel a little reticent. Likewise, the tannins are a little conspicuous at this precise moment. They will soften with time. There is commendable body and precision, slightly peppery towards the finish with a tang of cracked black pepper on the aftertaste. Very fine - what you might call a "solid" Pichon Baron. Drinking range: 2023 - 2045 Rating: 93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2020)

The 2017 Pichon Baron was picked from 18 to 21 September for the Merlot and 27 September to 3 October for the Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a very sophisticated, pure and quite intense bouquet with black fruit, cedar and potent graphite aromas. This feels very focused and the 80% new oak is seamlessly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with a smooth entry, very sleek and silky with a gentle grip. There is a lovely sweetness here, perhaps less austere than I was anticipating with a very long, quite spicy finish. Tasted four times with consistent notes. Drinking range: 2020 - 2045 Rating: 93-95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2018)

Stricter selection this year, says Christian Seely, 270,000 bottles instead of 350,000. 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot. Very dark with black core and purple rim. Seductively dark fruit and graphite. Seductive without being flirtatious, rather serious in fact. Deep with black fruit, not sweet, dry and super-smooth with a dry elegance and restraint. Extremely fine and surprisingly juicy on the finish. Long and elegant. Firm, compact and delicious. Drinking range: 2026 - 2047 Rating: 17.5 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2018)

The grand vin represents 50% of production this year. A blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot, the 2017 Pichon-Longueville Baron is deep garnet-purple in color and simply sings of vibrant blackcurrants, black cherries and rose hip notes with nuances of potpourri, incense, licorice and pencil shavings plus touches of cigar box and fertile loam. Medium-bodied, super intense and possessing stunning poise, it has very firm, fine-grained tannins and a beautifully silken texture, with bags of freshness and a very long, perfumed finish. Rating: 95-97 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2018)

A wonderfully rich and beautiful wine, intense and concentrated but with real generosity of spirit and huge persistency. It's in keeping with the more focussed and intensely intellectual style of wine that Pichon Baron has produced over the past few vintages, meaning that the austerity of the year really suits it. The 30hl/ha yield was not because of frost, but because of their low-yielding 60-year-old Cabernet vines. 80% new oak. 50% of production went into the grand vin. Harvested 18 September to 3 October, followed by an early and rapid fermentation and blending, meaning that wines were transferred into barrel by the end of November. A wine to age, and then some. Drinking range: 2026 - 2042 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2018)

The saturated purple-colored 2017 Pichon-Longueville Baron will compete with the best of the best in 2017. Possessing full-bodied notes of ripe blackberry and cassis fruit intermixed with background graphite and oak, it hits the palate with beautiful purity of fruit, building tannin, and a great, great finish. Its oak is brilliantly integrated, it has a stacked mid-palate, and again, just incredible purity of fruit. It has the fruit/texture to drink nicely in its youth yet deserves 4-6 years and will keep for two decades or more. The 2017 is 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot aging in 80% new French oak, which accounts for only 50% of the total production. Rating: 94-97 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Apr 2018)

This is very centered and focused on the mid-palate with beautiful currant, coffee and walnut character. Full-bodied and superfine. Strong tannins and a long and bright finish. Lots of blackcurrants and blackberries in the end. Rating: 95-96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2018)

This is nice, with dark plum and blackberry compote flavors that have a fleshy edge, while light bay, tobacco and savory notes add range, combining with the vintage’s fresh acidity and bright mineral edge. Rating: 92-95 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2018)

The heart of the Pichon-Baron blend these days comes from the grand plateau, with occasional contributions from some parcels with a similarly easterly position within the appellation, and this is certainly the case in 2017, which includes very little fruit from beyond the plateau. Frost was not a problem here. The blend is 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, which was picked between September 27th and October 3rd, and the fruit of old Merlot vines, accounting for the other 21%, and picked between September 18th and 21st. The wine accounts for 50% of the crop from the Pichon-Baron vineyards. This is (unsurprisingly) very different in terms of impact and quality to the second wines, showing an introverted reticence, a dark and savoury concentration, with spiced cherries, cigar box and tobacco, also smoke as well as a really enticing gravelly minerality, The palate lifts it all up several notches, with dense and yet refined fruit, full and bright, with savoury structure, very refined tannins providing a silky backbone, with lovely integration of structure and substance. It is bright, pure, polished, poised and harmonious, such a complete composition, and it is very long too. This is superb, and clearly one of the most striking wines of the left bank. The élevage will be in 80% new oak and 20% second-fill barrels, for about 18 months. Rating: 95-97 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2018)