Ray Vanderhoff

9.3

Blend of Merlot (59%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (41%). Dark purple color. Fruit forward aromas of black fruit, sweet oak, violets and baking spices. Bright and ripe dark berry and plum flavors mesh nicely with touches of spices and minerals. Long and lingering finish. Smooth tannins. Excellent balance and freshness. Nicely layered and precise. — 3 days ago

Jack Tan

8.9

Birthday. Great buy. Mellow and great finish. — 22 days ago

Jacob Onufrychuk

9.0

Not particularly noteworthy but good I’ve it has had a chance to breathe. Dark berry etc. — 6 months ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.3

2019 vintage. A bit more Merlot than Cabernet, but the latter seems to dominate the nose. — 8 months ago

Mark S.

9.0

Violet Pichon Baron 19 @34980, Pieroth, 241115 — 8 days ago

Tobias Linzert

9.1

Fantastic wine with complex aromas of blackberry jam, cassis, violet, licorice, earthy and oak. Wonderfully balanced on the palate with well-integrated tannins and great length. — a month ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1990 vintage. Excellent fill and halfway saturated cork. Used a Durand but surmise a regular waiter's friend, wielded carefully, could have done the trick with the cork. Decanted and tasted after 30 mins, one hour and two hours. Some obvious sed but not troublesome or overtly noticeable. Original owner-château direct on original release. Super cold cellar because this was lagging noticeably behind other '90's and LB's. Bigger tannic structure (for a generally feminine-styled house) than anything save a Latour, Mouton, Ducru Left Bank property. Even more guts than Lynch-Bages or Pichon-Baron '90's currently stored above 55 or so degrees. Surprising but made sense. Light-medium body. Appropriate color. 3-4 years left in this stage unless larger format in play. Slight, fleeting burst of richness in the frontal palate and a tad brickish and then it just flowed on, without speed bumps. A little cocoa powder and cedar/tobacco. Suspect 750ml specimens not stored as cold/religiously will be showing more in the 9.0-9.1 range and farther down the backside of the bell curve. 10.26.24. — a month ago

Alvaro Bustillos

9.4

Equipo vaquero — 12 days ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Nearly 20 years in bottle. It is still ascending for another 15 days plus years.

From a warm vintage. Beautiful, even toned fruits with elegant earth & amazing lead pencil bloom for days.

This is approaching its peak, another 5 years from its peak.

Well resolved wine-fruits. The fruits are juicy, blackberries, black raspberries, plum skin, dark cherries & slightly, poached strawberries with a highlight of pomegranate. Mocha, dark chocolate, black tea, sandalwood, sandstone, limestone, some mushroom notes, dark, rich turned earth w/ dry leaves, dry tobacco, dry leather, dry herbs, dry stone, caramel notes, dry, withering, dark, purple & red flowers with excellent acidity, balance, tension, structure and finish for days that lasts 90 seconds. — an hour ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Are there many/any better Pauillac second growths?

2003 a ripe, warm vintage.

Soften medium plus tannins. It’s Bordeaux lush, ruby; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum that leans into pudding, dark cherries, ripe strawberries, hues of purple & blue fruits. Dark spice w/ palate heat, nutmeg, clove , cinnamon notes, mid berry cola, some black licorice, vanillin, dark, rich forest floor with a touch of dry leaves, lead pencil shavings, dry tobacco, sandalwood to cedar, 1/2 used leather, limestone, dry, crushed rocks, dry river stone, dry herbs, dry to moist, grey, volcanic clay, fresh & withering dark, red flowers, framed in lavender & liquid violets, excellent acidity with excellent; tension, structure, balance and elegant finish that goes on and on.

First wine w/ an Allen Brothers Ribcap.

Photos of; Chateau Pichon Lalande, Virginie de Pichon Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande, library cellar and estate vineyard. — 7 months ago