Château Pichon Baron 2018

Critic scores

• James Suckling98-99
• Wine Enthusiast98
• Vinous97
• Wine Advocate96
• Decanter90

The 2018 vintage in Pauillac

Vintage benchmark: 95/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: After a spring marked by mildew, the heat concentrated a small crop: rich, ripe wines with great depth of material.

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

Château Pichon Baron 2018 reveals a dark color with garnet hues.

The nose, precise and delicate, reveals notes of fresh fruit, small black fruits and spices.

The attack on the palate is smooth, indulgent, polished, juicy, with an enveloping tannic power that builds. The body is structured on silky, thoroughbred tannins. The flavor is carried by a structure that preserves its evolution. The finish is flavorful, full, fleshy, altogether harmonious.

The richness is perfectly integrated, the style is strongly defined, built to endure for decades while retaining elegance and distinction.

Blend of the 2018 vintage

Figures from the 2018 sheet

• 180,000 bottlesProduction

Winemaking

Plot and intra-plot selections form the foundation of our approach. This year, sorting mainly ensured the qualitative consistency of the vatting. The rise in temperature was gradual so as to favor extraction. Alcoholic fermentations got underway quickly and proceeded at a moderate pace, allowing extractions during the fermentation phase suited to each grape variety and each terroir. Temperatures were regulated at 25-29°C. Maceration times ranged from 18 to 23 days.

Ageing

80% in new barrels

20% in one-wine barrels, for 18 months

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.