Pauillac · vintage 2020
Why this vintage
- 99/100 from James Sucklingand 5 other scores above 90/100.
- The 2020 vintage in PauillacAn early, hot year, with a harvest under pressure: a dense, juicy classic, ripe without heaviness.
Critic scores
- James Suckling99
- Vinous99
- Wine Advocate97
- Wine Enthusiast97
- Wine Spectator97
- Decanter95
The 2020 vintage in Pauillac
Vintage benchmark: 94/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)
Vintage character: An early, hot year, with a harvest under pressure: a dense, juicy classic, ripe without heaviness.
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 2020 reveals a very beautiful, intense garnet robe. The nose, fresh, precise and complex, offers aromas of ripe red fruit, spices, cedar and pencil lead. The attack is ample, with a powerful, creamy and elegant palate. The tannins are silky and thoroughbred. The finish is long, fruity and peppery. Pierre Montégut, Technical Director, September 2022
Blend of the 2020 vintage
- 76 % Cabernet-sauvignon
- 24 % Merlot
Shares for this vintage, as recorded on the 2020 technical sheet. The vineyard itself is planted with 62 % cabernet sauvignon, 32 % merlot, 4 % cabernet franc, 2 % petit verdot — a vintage blend departs from the area under vine as the year dictates.
Figures from the 2020 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
70% in new barrels, 30% 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.
An offer on Château Pichon Baron 2020
Availability, allocations and terms: the Compagnie Médocaine will reply promptly. The estate and vintage are already filled in in the message.
Texts and documents 2020
The texts below copy in one click for your product sheets, catalogues and social channels. The printable sheet condenses the whole page onto a single A4 page.
Visuals
For this vintage, the media library contains: packshots, back labels. High-definition packshots, labels, back labels and lifestyle photos are reserved for clients and partners, on the Compagnie Médocaine’s VinCod media library.
Sheet checked on September 21, 2026. Technical data: the estate’s VinCod sheets. Critic scores: sources cited above, with their date. Vintage benchmarks and character: Compagnie Médocaine’s own editorial read. Soils and relief, where shown: the Compagnie Médocaine’s parcel survey and the Mapbox/IGN terrain model.