Château Pichon Baron 1996

Critic scores

• Vinous96

The 1996 vintage in Pauillac

Vintage benchmark: 92/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: A dry, windy September saved the Médoc's cabernets: the cabernet vintage par excellence, structured and slow to open.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Pauillac. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.

Tasting

A great year for the Médoc and the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. The color of Château Pichon Baron 1996 is dense and luminous. Its nose is fresh, deep, precise, with radiant fruit of small red and black berries such as morello cherry and blackcurrant. Its polished tannins accompany a beautiful palate, even more complex than the nose, with hints of old blackcurrant liqueur, undergrowth and tobacco. Its finish is tight, thoroughbred, distinguished, then fleshy, ample and refreshing. This great, dynamic length is built to last for decades.

Blend of the 1996 vintage

Figures from the 1996 sheet

• 180,000 bottlesProduction

Winemaking

Maceration temperatures ranged between 25 and 27°C. Extractions were

preferentially carried out at the height of fermentation, and daily tastings refined the length

of post-fermentation maceration.

Ageing

The 1996 vintage was aged for 15 months in oak casks, with 70% new barrels.

Terroir

Overlooking the Latour vineyard, the 73 ha of Domaine de Pichon Baron extend over gravelly soils of very high quality. This unique land, low in nutrients and without excess water, sparingly feeds old vine stocks whose grape production is deliberately small but of exceptional nobility. This terroir is capable of producing extraordinary wines, which the property sets out to do with excellence and consistency, respecting the original history of this vineyard. Composed of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the extensive Pichon Baron vineyard has been divided up into meticulously defined plots. The great 40 ha terroir of the Pichon Baron knoll is devoted solely to the production of the Grand Vin and today accounts for the greater part of its blend.