Chateau Pichon Baron 2eme Cru Classe, Pauillac 2014

Irony and smoky intensity on the very youthful nose. Really rich and tannic, but as it flows over your palate it becomes more and more suave and complex. This is a concentrated, long-term wine that demands some patience but should richly reward it. Try in 2022.

A wine of pure sophistication and class, the 2014 Pichon-Longueville Baron exudes depth and intensity from the very first taste. Super-ripe black cherry, plum, smoke, tobacco and licorice all flesh out in the glass. This is a surprisingly ripe style for the vintage. Readers should give the 2014 at least a few years in bottle to come together.

From vines that have reached an average of 35 years old, this is rich, firm and broad-shouldered, with dark bilberry fruits overlaid with steely flint edges. We're in film noir territory here: think The Third Man's Harry Lime slipping under the railway arches. After five minutes in the glass there's a floral note curling upwards. Excellent. 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, aged in 80% new oak.

The 2014 Pichon-Baron repeats its performance of just a few weeks earlier, presenting blackberry, undergrowth and graphite on the detailed nose, though perhaps a little more black currant than the previous bottle. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin, and extremely pure and precise. A tingle of cold stone, an almost flint-like sensation, appears toward the pixelated finish. Very fine. Tasted at the Pichon-Baron vertical at the château.