Baron de Pichon-Longueville Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend

Initially bretty and angular, it all blew off after 30 mins revealing a classic Pauillac both full and feminine, lots of cedar and a whiff of candied strawberry. Long finish. Oddly, dropped off after 2 hrs of air, suggesting maybe drink up.

This was served during my annual WWC hosting. Typical format of sparkler, three whites, four reds, one dessert, all served blind.

Poured alongside the 2003 Mondavi VHR as a comparison. 60 cab/40 merlot.

Decanted an hour. The similarities between this and the ‘03 Mondavi VHR the first hour was shocking…even as the host, I wondered if I switched the wines. Slight hint of brett but certainly not overpowering. Leather, herbs de Provence, sweet vanilla pipe tobacco, graphite up front aromatically. Dark roast mocha, red and black berry fruit, cassis, really nice vein of acidity and tannin. This remained unchanged during the lunch. Seems like it’s in a peak window (maybe close to the top?) where I imagine it will hold another 5-7yrs easily before turning more tertiary.

The nose reveals, perfume floral, dark, ripe cassis. Ripe; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, strawberry flesh, sweet tarriness, black licorice, steeped, dark, fruit tea, limestone minerals, dry stone, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, vanilla, dark spice, rich, moist dark soil, just a hint of herbaceous notes, mint, leather, fresh tobacco, graphite, dark berry cola, fresh, dark red, blue and purple florals with violets.

The body is; rich, lush, gorgeous, sexy, and full. The tannins are; round, velvety, still a little firm and sticky with tarriness. The structure, tension, length and balance are just hitting harmony. Ripe; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum, blueberries, plum, strawberry flesh, sweet tarriness, black licorice, steeped, dark, fruit tea, limestone minerals, dry stone, wet clay, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, vanilla, dark spice with heat, rich, moist dark soil, dry crushed rocks, just a hint of herbaceous notes; mint, bay leaf, thyme, leather, expresso roast grounds, cigar with ash, graphite, dark berry cola, fresh, dark red, blue and purple florals, lavender with violets. The acidity is a fresh water stream. The finish is unbelievably; elegant, well balanced & polished, lush, rich, ruby, gorgeously sexy and lasts minutes.

Warm, ripe Bordeaux’s vintage with roughly two decades of good drinking ahead of it.

Photos of, my favorite Chateau in Bordeaux, their newer barrel room that sits under the bottom photo, field hands harvesting their Estate fruit and the outer building that is their barrel room.

Out of magnum

Amazing wine , it seems 2003 is at its peak, full elegant and complex. Deep dark color, lovely complex nose, plums, black current, chocolate, mushrooms, coffee, sweet cedar, full body, sweet round rich tannins, great acidity and a long chewy delicious finish. My score agird for once with RP at 94 points, drink to 2020. I am planning to secure more of this vintage .

My favorite Chateau property in all of Bordeaux. Perhaps, my favorite property in all of the world's wine regions. Oh...they make pretty good wine too! It's an amazing majestic property to stand in front of and gaze. On the nose; warm, ripe black currants, blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, touch of blue fruits, leather, wood shavings, lead pencil, light baking spices, soft spice, dry crushed minerals, rich black earth, dry stones and dry dark florals with violets. The fruits on the palate are ripe and somewhat baked in style from the warm vintage in 03. Blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries develop as it sits on your palate. Violets, dry dark florals, spice-box, cigar with ash, very light; cinnamon, vanilla, clove. Crushed dry rocks, stones, rich black earth, suede style leather, graphite, cedar wood shavings, dry stems and powdered tannins with some soft stickiness. This finish is ripe; round, rich, dark fruits, dry powdery tannins, warm semi-sweet earthiness with decent acidity that is off just a bit from the warm vintage but goes on over a minute. Photos of; that amazing Chateau, wide side shot of the Chateau with estate vines and two different shots of their cellar...stainless tanks and large French oak vats. Still has 15-20 years of good drinking going forward.

So so vintage for this wine but still solid

Preferred the 2010s on this particular flight.

This is the most picturesque Chateau in Bordeaux. Oh...and they make a pretty amazing Bordeaux. It's a good first look at the 03 vintage from my five bottle set. There are steak wines and then there are steak wines. This was a 10 pair with the T-bone...Heaven. The tannins have softened but have many years ahead to get to that perfect place. The mouthfeel is full, round, creamy and elegant. The fruits have a not too sweet liqueur style. They are; blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, plum, sweet tobacco leaf, anise, used leather, black tea, used coffee grounds, rich wet black turned earth, stones, dry red florals, spice; clove, nutmeg, baking spices; very light vanilla, touch of caramel, dark chocolate and acidity that pours over the palate. There is the start of harmony in the structure, length, balance and tension. The finish lasts a full two-minutes and it crushed with the T-bone. Next bottle in 5-7 years. For the legions of you on Delectable crushing only young Napa Cabernet, you have no idea what you're missing in aged Bordeaux...forget about it...even vs. well aged Napa Cabernet. Respect!!! 3-4 hour decant and it needed every second of it.

Saturday night...time for steak and claret as my buddy Gary Westby says. In this scenario, I envisioned the wine being equal or even better than my steak. Not to toot my horn but most everyone that's had my steak simply says meaningfully that it is the best they've had. Myself, I've only had one better the Ribcap at Bourbon Steak in SF; which sadly closed as the hotel took back the space they were in. Hopefully, soon to reopen again elsewhere in SF. However, back to the Pichon Baron. I can't say I loved it. I wanted to love it as it is one of my favorite properties in Pauillac. The wine isn't bad but it just never shined. Maybe, it's just not a good moment in it's evolution to open. It's soft, elegant but missing the beauty, flavors and complexity I've come to expect. The fruits are dry blackberry, dark cherries, black raspberries, a touch of juicy strawberries and black plum skin. Dark dry powdery minerals, saddlewood, lead pencil savings, underbrush, dry dark earth, dry pebbles. There is not much on the mid palate, it finishes a little flat and the fruits never really shined. Surprising for such a warm vintage. Hoping it improves over the years as I've got 5 more. Unusual that the wine really needed the steak more than the steak needed the wine.