Tasting notes
Yohan Castaing · Wine Advocate · 99
Generous aromatics of dark berry fruit, caramel, and spice are clear indicators of a warm vintage, but there are also floral notes and no heaviness whatsoever. There is juicy, savoury substance on the palate, sustained by gossamer tannins of surprising delicacy, but lurking underneath is the power so characteristic of this vintage. A few years of cellaring will be needed for the terroir expression to hit its stride.
Drink 2025 - 2070
James Suckling · James Suckling · 97
Aromas of blackcurrants, blueberries, ash and cedar with hints of conifer. Full-bodied, yet so tight and refined with polished, toned tannins that are creamy and compact with a silky texture. Energetic and driven.
Drink 2026+
Jeb Dunnuck · Jeb Dunnuck · 97+
A beautiful, majestic Pauillac that reminds me a little of the 2000, the 2018 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron checks in as 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot that was brought up in 80% new French oak. It shows the estate's more pure Cabernet, focused, elegant style yet offers full-bodied richness and serious depth of fruit as well as awesome notes of crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil shavings, tobacco, and wet stone-like minerality. With building tannins, a fresh, focused texture, and a great finish, it's not for those looking for instant gratification, and I suspect it will need a solid decade or more of cellaring, but it will evolve for 50 years or more. It's a profound 2018.
Antonio Galloni · Vinous · 97
Suave and sophisticated, the 2018 Pichon Baron is a real head-turner. Silky, polished tannins wrap around a core of inky dark red/purplish berry fruit. More than anything else, the 2018 impresses for its exceptional balance. All the elements are so impeccably balanced. That will make the 2018 easy to drink relatively early, although my preference would be to leave it in the cellar for the better part of the next decade. Rose petal, spice, blood orange and mint add brightness and perfume on the long, finely-knit finish.
Vinous.com · Vinous · 97
Suave and sophisticated, the 2018 Pichon Baron is a real head-turner. Silky, polished tannins wrap around a core of inky dark red/purplish berry fruit. More than anything else, the 2018 impresses for its exceptional balance. All the elements are so impeccably balanced. That will make the 2018 easy to drink relatively early, although my preference would be to leave it in the cellar for the better part of the next decade. Rose petal, spice, blood orange and mint add brightness and perfume on the long, finely-knit finish.
Drink 2030 - 2058
Jane Anson · Decanter · 96
An exceptionally successful vintage at Pichon Baron, juicy, concentrated and finessed, with powerful yet well balanced bilberry and blackberry fruits. The sense of complexity and nuance builds from beginning to end, coming in waves of baked earth, crayon and liquorice bud, with a slate texture to the tannins that slows the progress down through the palate and promises great things ahead. 80% new oak. They had to fight against mildew as everyone did, but came out a little better than some, at around 32hl/h yield. Jean-René Matignon technical director.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW · Wine Advocate · 95+
The 2018 Pichon Baron has a deep garnet-purple color. It starts off with savory notes of black olives, sauteed herbs, chargrill, and beef dripping, over a core of crème de cassis and stewed plums. Medium to full-bodied, firm and grainy, the palate takes a slight dip in the middle, finishing with good length, if a little warm.
Neal Martin · Vinous · 94
The 2018 Pichon-Baron is matured for 18 months in 80% new oak. It has retained its quite extroverted, almost audacious bouquet featuring copious scents of blackberry, blueberry and mint, though I might contend that it still needs to show more Pichon Baron DNA. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe tannins and firm grip, quite assertive and perhaps more austere than I expected in the mouth. Plenty of graphite here, much more than in barrel, and a foursquare finish. This 2018 Pichon-Baron will require 5–8 years in bottle because it is one of the more tannic Pauillacs of the vintage, but could also be one of the most rewarding for those with patience and a cool, damp cellar.
