Château Pichon Baron 2012

Critic scores

• Wine Enthusiast95
• Vinous91

The 2012 vintage in Pauillac

Vintage benchmark: 85/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: A late cycle closing with rain gave an uneven vintage: the cabernets hold up, the merlots remain taut.

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

The robe is an intense, deep red with black highlights. The aromas, fresh, fine, delicate, are marked by red fruit (blackcurrant), but also black fruit (blackberries). On the palate, the tannins are both concentrated and mellow, as well as precise and thoroughbred. A wine of great tannic substance, it asserts itself through the subtle power of its great Cabernet Sauvignons, particularly successful in this vintage.

Blend of the 2012 vintage

Figures from the 2012 sheet

• 13 % vol.Alcohol
• 31 hl/haYield
• 30 yrsVine age
• 180,000 bottlesProduction

Winemaking

Vinifications were carried out following this same method: one vat, one plot, with the aim of staying as close as possible to the very nature of the vintage. After smooth fermentations, the juices were left in the vats for 15 to 22 days. It is already clear that this 2012 harvest will benefit from a high concentration of polyphenols.

Ageing

15 months in French oak barrels (80% new).

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.