Chateau Pichon Baron 2eme Cru Classe, Pauillac 2009

Revealing incredible quality and performing better than it did from barrel, the 2009 appears to be the greatest Pichon Longueville Baron since the 1990 and 1989. An amazing opaque blue/purple color is followed by scents of spring flowers, graphite, smoky charcoal, incense, blackberries, blueberries and hints of coffee and chocolate. Incredibly intense, pure and flawlessly constructed with extravagant layers of fruit and richness, this offering has developed beautifully under the management of Christian Seeley. It is a voluptuous, opulent Pichon Longueville Baron that may eclipse anything they have made in the past.

Crayon, cigar and cedarwood aromatics, relatively subdued because this is tightly packed with still-chewy tannins, but there is so much waiting underneath. Give this another few years, or a good few hours in a carafe, to fully appreciate how the dense brambly fruits unroll and expand outwards through the palate. Great quality, with muscular tannins that ensure the ripe fruit remains engaged and at the very beginning of their life. An exceptionally successful wine. 80% new oak. Jean-René Matignon technical director.

The 2009 Pichon-Longueville Baron has a medium to deep garnet color and a very meaty/savory nose over a core of sweaty leather, baked blackberries and plums with notions of crème de cassis, sautéed herbs and black olives coming through with coaxing. Full, rich, concentrated and decadently fruited in the mouth, the palate has beautifully plush tannins and an herbal lift on the long finish.

Bold, smoky and chocolatey, this is a concentrated and massive wine for the Medoc, the alcohol showing slightly at the bold warm finish. Where is that T-bone steak? Drink or hold.

The 2009 Pichon Baron is similar to the previous bottle. Precocious black fruit mixes with graphite and black truffle. A light marine influence becomes more evident with aeration. It couldn't come from anywhere but Pauillac. The palate is beautifully balanced with a seam of graphite interwoven through the layered black fruit. This is nicely poised for a 2009 Left Bank that seems to be slowly becoming more classically styled in recent months. Wonderful. Tasted at Burns & German's dinner to celebrate The Complete Bordeaux Vintage Guide book at Medlar.