On the first day of Christmas…
Short of seasonal gift ideas and looking for some inspiration? In traditional ‘12 days of Christmas’ style, db’s Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay offers the first of a dozen gift suggestions for a ‘true-love’ short of seasonal vinous inspiration but sufficiently drunk on festive spirit to go that extra mile to find you something truly special…
On the first day of Christmas my true-love (might have) sent to me. And, more realistically I hope, yours might send to you:
The wines: An exclusive, official and limited-edition mixed case of Pauillac superstar second growth Château Pichon Baron.
Format: It’s the format that renders this a little more accessible to your true love than it would otherwise be. We have 6 half-bottles of some top recent vintages of Pichon Baron very beautifully presented in a hand-crafted jet-black wooden case. I’ve seen it up close; it’s beautiful. And that’s even before we get to the contents. We have the spectacular 2009, the over-performing 2012 and 2014 and then a trilogy of vintages starting with the mythic 2016. This would make for a fabulous vertical tasting with friends or family. In short, this is top-end (fantasy) Christmas!
Yours for: As I was saying, the format renders this a little more affordable than it would otherwise be. It’s available directly from the property and is going to set your true love back €599, tax and duty paid. With provenance being even more important for half-bottles, that this comes only directly from the property is a bonus.
Tasting notes
Château Pichon Baron 2018 (Pauillac; 78% Cabernet Sauvignon; 22% Merlot; aged in oak barrels, 80% new; a final yield of 32 hl/ha; pH 3.89; 14.1% alcohol). A little more closed and less expressive than the others, though one picks up immediately the solar character of the (second half of) this complex vintage. Creamy, rich and more spicy than the others, with relatively prominent if never dominant nutmeg, mace and cinnamon. Gentle and accessible, this carries the heat of the vintage very well, the sheer quality of the terroir very evident. Smokier than the others, with a lovely note of leafy tobacco. On the palate this is really broad, deep, dark and concentrated, with a little more baked plum and stone-fruit than the others in the case reflecting the heat of the summer, but with those more classical cassis and bramble undertones. Massive tannins, but they are super-well disguised on the entry before they start to engage and crumble, reminding us of the heat and concentration of the vintage. There’s a note of chocolate, very dark and lightly grated, on the finish. Elegant for 2018. A remarkable wine in the context of a vintage that has never been a favourite of mine. The only one to these to exceed 14% alcohol (at 14,1%!). 95.
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Château Pichon Baron 2017 (Pauillac; 79% Cabernet Sauvignon; 21% Merlot; a final yield of 30 hl/ha, due not to frost but the low yielding old-vine Cabernet; 13.1% alcohol). This is, of course lighter and more aerial than the wines next to it. It’s more mineral in character too. And, on the palate, it’s sinuous and altogether lighter and more ethereal in style. Elegant. Refined. Crunchy, bright and crisp in its fruit profile. One again, there’s grated chocolate – and a hint of violet with aeration. There are lovely cedar and graphite notes and the ferrous character to the minerality is more evident. A wine that shows a slightly different side of Pichon Baron. 94.
Château Pichon Baron 2016 (Pauillac; 85% Cabernet Sauvignon; 15% Merlot; aged in oak barrels, 80% new; 13.5% alcohol). Serious in a way and a little austere in the style of the vintage, yet this is extremely refined, very classy and elegant. There’s some of the characteristic seductiveness of Pichon Baron, to be sure, but its expressed here in such a refined way. I love the early traces of cedar that will become more and more prominent. I love too the dark damson and sloe fruit alongside the cassis and bramble. There’s pen ink and delightful floral elements – saffron and lily of the valley. The texture in the mouth is incredible. So ultra-compact, dense and concentrated but so soft and spherical at the core. Even from a half bottle this remains impressively youthful, the secret being the sheer quality and ripeness of the tannins. One is in the presence of greatness. A wine of perfect poise and harmony. 98.
Château Pichon Baron 2014 (Pauillac; 62% Cabernet Sauvignon; 33% Merlot; 3% Cabernet Franc; 2% Petit Verdot; aged in oak barrels, 80% new; 13.5% alcohol). Seductive. Glossy. Beautifully expressive already, above all in this format. From a cooler vintage but one characterised by the wonderful end of the season. Quite spicy, the oak seamlessly integrated. The personality of the wine is a little like a right-bank 2012. Not a wine of great depth, intensity or indeed length on the finish, but there’s a lovely freshness and a gentle harmony that render this both charming and accessible. 94.
Château Pichon Baron 2012 (Pauillac; 80% Cabernet Sauvignon; 20% Merlot; aged in oak barrels, 70% new; 13% alcohol). Of all the vintages in this mixed case this is perhaps the one you might expect to suffer most from the half-bottle format. But, perhaps because of the perfect provenance with this coming directly from the château, any such anxieties are entirely mis-founded. This is beguiling, soft, accessible, extremely aromatic and perfectly ready to drink. There’s lots of graphite and cedar gently encasing the dark berry fruits. A touch of mocha too. Indulgent and succulent if never opulent. 94.
Château Pichon Baron 2009 (Pauillac; 67% Cabernet Sauvignon; 33% Merlot; aged in oak barrels, 80% new; 13.5 alcohol). Impressive, even in the context of the vintage. Ripe, rich, sunny and warm-fruited (the French would say ‘solaire’). Dark berry fruits, a little plum, oak smoke, fresh pipe tobacco and a shaving or two from the pencil sharpener. It is not as dense as recent vintages (notably 2016 and 2018), but focussed, pure and svelte in texture, the tannins nicely integrated whilst still offering a little grip towards the finish. Herbal and sinuous and quite lifted on the palate with slightly crumbly tannins. Alongside the 2016, this star of the case for me. 96.
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