Château Pichon Longueville Baron

The history of Château Pichon Baron :

Château Pichon Baron belongs to the second Grand Cru Classé in 1855 of Bordeaux.

The creation of the estate dates back to the end of the 17th century by a certain Pierre Desmezures de Rauzan. The latter, a wine merchant, decided in 1689 to buy vineyards located next to Château Latour. Pierre Desmezures de Rauzan, had a daughter who married. His vineyards are included in the dowry of his daughter Thérèse. In 1694, she married Baron Jacques Pichon Longueville. This is how the Pichon Baron Longueville estate was born.

In 1850, the property was divided into 2 parts. One part for Baron Raoul Pichon Longueville which will become Château Pichon Baron Longueville and the other part for his three sisters which will become Pichon Comtesse.

Baron Raoul Pichon Longueville had the Château Pichon Baron Longueville built on the estate in 1851. The Pichon Longueville Baron castle is in Renaissance style with two emblematic turrets. In 1855, the wine of Château Pichon Baron was classified as 2nd Grand Cru Classé. After owning the estate for many years, the Pichon Longueville family decided to sell it to the Bouteiller family in 1933.

The Bouteiller family will be the queens of this castle for more than 50 years.

It was only in 1987 that the Pichon Baron estate was bought and taken over by AXA Millésimes. AXA Millésimes aims to enable châteaux with a glorious past to regain a strong reputation and exploit their potential. Thus, in 1988, the complete reconstruction of the vat room and the cellar is set up. They also renovated the castle.

Château Pichon Baron also produces two second wines from other parcels of the estate. They are called Les Tourelles de Longueville and Les Griffons de Pichon Baron.

Their production is about 200 000 bottles per year. The volume has been divided by two since 1990.

The Pichon Baron vineyard: from vine to wine

Chateau Pichon Baron has 73 hectares of quaternary gravel located south of Pauillac. We can therefore conclude that half of the Pichon Baron estate has land equivalent to that of Château Latour.

On the 73 hectares of Château Pichon Baron, the concentration of plantations is 9000 vines per hectare. Their yield is based on the vine, its age and the grape variety.

Concerning the grape variety, it is composed of : 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot.

Harvesting is done by hand and the objective is to keep the grapes in the best possible quality. The bunches of grapes are then selected in different ways: according to the plot, according to the age of the vines and finally according to the variety. For Château Pichon Baron, this is a very important step for which they are demanding, this mission is carried out by trained personnel.

Like most châteaux, Pichon Baron aims to produce an exceptional wine in each vintage. To do this, very strict selections are made from the oldest vines of the Pichon Baron estate. This selection is intended for the Grand Vin du Château.

For the vinification of the wine of Château Pichon Baron, the grapes are stored in vats with a fermentation that lasts from three to four weeks. Once the malolactic fermentation is done, the wine is put in barrels. Thus, the wine is aged in barrels for 18 to 20 months and regularly racked every 3 to 4 months by candlelight. It is a traditional technique whose objective is to separate the wine from the deposit.

The best vintages to remember for this château are: 2019, 2016, 2015, 2009, 1990, 1982 and 1975. The ageing potential for this Pauillac grand cru is 10 to 50 years.

Pairings and structures of the wines of the Domaine de Pichon Baron :

For the Grand Vins du Château, Pichon Baron, the color is dark garnet with a nose of ripe red fruits and complex. We also find aromas of spices and pencil lead. The mouth is powerful and elegant with traced tannins. On the finish, bright and elegant fruits.

Finally, the second wines of Château Pichon Baron. For Les Griffons de Pichon Baron: the color is purple with a delicate nose added with notes of black fruits, wood and tobacco. A generous mouth with greedy tannins. You will find, on the finish, aromas of black cherry and blueberry. For Les Tourelles de Longueville : the color is ruby. A nose that offers a bouquet of ripe red fruits composed of black cherries and a floral side.

A very clean mouth as well as a beautiful roundness accentuated by spices and black fruits. On the finish, aromas of woody licorice.

To accompany this bottle of Bordeaux wine, we recommend a rack of lamb with porcini mushrooms, leg of lamb with fava beans or beef filet with mushrooms.

Are you interested in the wines of Pauillac? See also our wines for the following areas:

• Wine Château Armailhac
• Wine Château Carruades de Lafite Rothschild
• Wine Château Clerc Milon
• Wine Château Duhart-Milon