Château Pichon Longueville Baron
My tasting notes are partly from a tasting I organised together with Dr. Peter Baumann in Austria in 1998. We tasted 40 vintages and Jean-Michel Cazes was the guest of honour. Other more recent notes have been added to these.
I had a bottle of 1864 a few years ago – the handwritten label stated just Pichon. It was, as far as I know, the last vintage bottled together with Lalande as one wine even though ownership was separate. Light in colour and with sweet delicate fruit. Still charming and alive.
The 1926 is a lovely wine in perfect balance with sweet concentrated fruit and a long finish.
The 1928 was also very much alive but lacking the charm of the '26. Our bottle of 1929 was not in a very good shape but I expect well-stored bottles to still drink well.
The 1930s was a difficult decade and the bottles from 1934 and 1937 were both past their best.
The 1940s and 1950s were the high point of the wines of Pichon Longueville until the late 1980s.
The great trio 1945, 1947 and 1949 are all very impressive wines. The '47 being the sweetest with very good fruit, the '45 quite tannic, concentrated and structured and the '49 showing wonderful fruit and balance - for me the best wine of the three. The '48 was still quite good but the '43 was ageing badly.
The 1950, 1957 and 1958 were all still drinking quite well but start to get a bit dry and need to be drunk soon.
1952 is a very impressive wine, lots of sweet fruit and none of the hardness sometimes found in the left-bank '52s.
1953 is a classic Médoc with all the lovely charm and elegance of the vintage. It has such a great balance that well-stored bottles should drink well for years to come.
The 1955 can still be a delicate and good wine, though a bit dry on the finish - I expect it needs drinking soon.
I have had the pleasure to drink the 1959 on several occasions from château and négociant bottlings. It shows the classic "lead pencil" and eucalyptus nose and concentrated cassis fruit and structure of a great Pauillac.
It is a close call which is the better wine - the 1959 or the 1961. I would probably go for the 1961 because of the even greater concentration of fruit. A fantastic wine!
The 1962 is still drinking reasonably well as is the 1964 – both needing drinking. The 1966 is typical of the vintage with cool, elegant fruit and fresh acidity.
The wines of the early 1970s were too hard and only with the 1978 and 1979 did one notice an improvement in the wines. Both are quite good, particularly the 1979.
1981 and 1983 are both light in style and need drinking.
I have always been a fan of the 1982 Pichon Baron finding it one of the most underrated of the '82s.
The 1985 has the charm and lovely fruit of the vintage but maybe not the Pauillac power and is drinking very well now.
1986 was a more tannic vintage and it will likely last longer than the '85 when and if the tannins will shed and could become a very good drinking experience. This was the last harvest under the Bouteillier regime but the élevage was made by the new team.
1987 should have been drunk by now.
1988 is a very good wine that to me seems to get better every time I drink it. It has now shed most of its tannins and show lovely sweet fruit. This is very good and fabulous value for your money.
1989 and 1990 were the two vintages that finally propelled Pichon Longueville into the status of a "Super-second".
Both are very concentrated in a more modern style with soft fruit and tannins. These are wonderful wines with ripe but not overripe fruit. I prefer the 1989 slightly at this moment but it may well change next time I get to compare them.
1992, 1993, 1994 and 1997 are all good considering the difficulties of the vintages.
1995 is a good wine and 1996 is even better. This is more typical classic Pauillac with power and elegance at the same time.