Baron de Pichon-Longueville Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend

Happy birthday honey. 🎂🥳🎉❤️

The Chateau that got my wife Sofia to finally love Bordeaux (1995). Expected more from the this property in 2000. But 2000 is still either the stubborn I think it is or just not as good as critically advertised. 20 years in bottle and think it needs at least 10 more years. Also, a touch of v/a-bandaid. It has nice balance with soft fruit & earth. It just lacks the wow factor for the property & vintage. Maybe, it is in a dumb faze. But, I’ve been waiting 20 years for 2000 to come out of its shell. I love this property but it is not up to its reputation…even for lesser vintages. It might be outstanding in another 20. This bottle is a little flawed and perhaps maybe (?) a better 2nd day wine. Tonight it is leaner than I would expect. Ripe; blackberries, black raspberries, plum, dark cherries, poached strawberries. Sweet lead pencil, charcoal, volcanic ash, spice, nutmeg, some cinnamon, vanillin, dry tobacco, sandalwood, limestone, dry crushed rocks , dry pebbles, dark, rich earth w/ dry leaves, dry herbs, hints of Worcestershire sauce, moist clay, withering mid floral bouquet with excellent acidity and a wire to wire finish that is balanced, nicely tensioned and elegance that lasts minutes. One of the few slightly flawed bottles in 25 plus yrs of collecting. I can count them on just over one-hand.

Picture of Sofia picking the 2012 Mouton Rothschild Merlot.

Deep, lots of structure. Excellent concentration. Looonnng finish. Cassis, shoe polish, black fruits, wet tobacco, black licorice. Interestingly, much more evolved 24 hours later.

This Pichon-Baron was in the earliest peak of its window, pure ✏️ and graphite cigar box nose, rich, intense, leading cassis, tar and a mineral and wonderfully tannic trip over the palate and a long, 40 second finish that was reminiscent dry red clay. Good news: I have 11 more in the case I cracked last night. Bad news: I’ll be in my 60’s before these open up and the secondary stuff really starts to show.

This is a stunning pichon, silky, full of black fruit, smooth. Fantastic to drink now but maybe better in 3 to 5 years.

Truly one of the better 2000’s I’ve had. Needs an hour or more to open up but glorious fruit and texture once it does. Silky like cashmere. Black fruits galore. Better to hold your bottles for another five years. The best is yet to come.

The fruits run dry to juicy. Blackberries, dry black cherries, stewed black plum, expressions roast, herbs, black licorice, black cherry cola, tough leather, black tea, dry dark soil with stones, dry underbrush, touch of lead pencil shavings, solid acidity, tannins still need work but the structure, length, balance are excellent. However, I still won't open my for another 10-15 years. I had this a few years ago and it was seriously not ready. Good movement since then.

Drinking amazing. Unfortunately I didn't have the bottle on me, so the 2009 bottle will have to suffice. Fantastic juice, holding great balance and structure.

Still very young. Needs another 10yrs

Stunning in every way-black truffle, meat and blackberries on the nose...slight dirtiness/wet earth. Nearly exotic. Tannins are still present yet super polished. Full bodied and nimble... eucalyptus, berry-slight mint character. Tobacco, black cherry, currants and new leather show throughout the palate. Laser focused, showing that it has an easy 10 years left but is nothing shy of nearly perfect now.

Almost everyone agreed that the 2000 Baron and Lalande were the best with half the group preferring the Baron and the other half Lalande. My wife, our friend Jorge and I were in the Lalande side.