Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Château Pichon Baron 2023 – Pauillac, Grand Cru Classé en 1855. BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A commanding and traditionally styled Pauillac delivering power, precision, and aristocratic structure, driven by a 66% Cabernet Sauvignon–dominant blend with 27% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Semillon support. Dark fruit density, mineral authority, and refined oak integration create a wine that feels impactful today while clearly engineered for long-term evolution and layered complexity.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackcurrant, cassis, blackberry, graphite, pencil shavings, cedar, cigar box, crushed gravel, subtle dark cocoa and savory spice.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied with firm yet polished tannins, excellent mid-palate density, vibrant structural tension, tightly knit acidity, and a long, authoritative finish that builds rather than fades.

Food Pairings
Dry-aged ribeye, lamb rack, beef Wellington, venison, mushroom-forward dishes, aged hard cheeses.

Verdict
A textbook expression of elite Pauillac: powerful, elegant, disciplined, and deeply age-worthy. The wine delivers immediate presence while clearly signaling even greater complexity and harmony with time in bottle.

🍷 Personal Pick
This is serious wine, fierce yet controlled, deeply impressive without arrogance, and loaded with finesse under the horsepower. A bottle that earns respect with every sip and promises an extraordinary future in the cellar. — 9 months ago

Will Stanley

9.5

Decanted for around an hour, the recently released 2013 Grand Vin from Chateau Musar is an enormous wine at present in its youth. Gradually, it opened into a gorgeous, exotic and utterly unique product of this unlikely corner of the wine world. There’s plenty of Bordeaux-like character in the form of dark fruit and cigar box, but there are notes too of cranberry, liquorice, clove, mandarin and five spice. The mouthfeel, as a whole, has a quasi Brunello quality to it, with its bright cherry fruit and mouthwatering acidity. But woe is anyone to compare this wine to any other, for it is incomparable. One of Serge Hochar’s last vintages before his passing in 2014, and one that will doubtless have a long life. — 5 years ago

Phil Castellano

9.1

Great IPA to start a Monday evening! #cigarcitybrewing — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.4

Wonderful evening at the City Club courtesy of Jeff’s hosting at the Friday group. Cellar guessing Jeff is a dangerous game as he’s the type who plans to throw curveballs! All wines served blind.

Ageless. Based on color, I immediately thought Napa but the palate had me second guessing. Some rose petal, spice and tart cherry. Cedar. This tastes so much younger than the ‘88 I opened a few months back. Wonderful wines. — 8 years ago

with Dan

Greg Koslosky

9.5

A great bottle for the price quality . Intense nose of red and blue fruits with a touch of vanilla some tea and earth with a touch of violets . A perfect time to drink since the tannins are well -resolved but should last for another 10 years . Tasted at Butter in New York City . — 9 years ago

Matt

9.4

Dusty, cigar ash, R. Apple skins, dried earth, spices, dried herbs, smoke. Structurally this wine is very sound with vibrant acid and tannin still holding on. Almost Nebbiolo-like in texture and elegance. Very pretty and beautiful. — 10 years ago

Lisa Hallgren

9.6

1976 Vintage. Pretty amazing. Iron & earth, tobacco, cigar box, straw, dried prunes, and dried savory. All the good stuff. — 11 years ago

PJ

9.5

Great way to warm up on a 20 degree night! 🍷 — 12 years ago

Anthony Weytjens

Winemaker & Estate Manager at Edge Hill Estate

9.7

Great wine! Took about 45 min to open up but when it did... Wow! So amazed with still having black fruit flavors behind the cigar and moroccan leather! — 13 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.5

Classic La Mission nose showing mostly black fruits, with notes of smoke, cedar, licorice, leather, mocha, underbrush & cigar ash. Just entering its prime with many years ahead — 10 months ago

Skip Smyser

9.7

What a Thanksgiving treat! Lush red fruit with hints of slate and tobacco. Long lingering mid pallet aftertaste. Deep red color. Goes good with a good Cuban cigar. Held up to a varied turkey day menu. Food and wine improved both. Outstanding 🍷🍷🦃🍷🦃🍷 — 4 years ago

Shengli Hu

9.2

Bright ruby with a garnet rim of medium minus concentration. Tobacco, pencil shavings, cigar, cedarwood, licorice, fresh pomegranate, raspberry, tart red cherry, stony minerality. Lightly spiced. Elevated acidity, medium soft tannins, medium alcohol. Medium body. — 6 years ago

Bill Bender

9.2

Moving fuel. 42 year old Tempranillo and a uniquely American delicacy to celebrate Independence Day 🧀 🇺🇸 I’m unpacking boxes and listening to the Padres vs Dodgers so other than the wine I’m full throttle Americana today. The Vina Todonia cork dropped in to the bottle immediately upon contact from the Durand so I was not hopeful....but it’s totally intact and it presents with significant bricking in the decanter with expected brown and red tones and is chock full of secondary notes of burnt fig, savory smoke, cigar and soil. Soft tannins and waning acidity but it seems to be putting on “weight” as the afternoon progresses. Another solid showing from this producer at an advanced age. Great stuff. Happy 4th of July to all!! 🍎 ⚾️ 🍷 ☀️ — 7 years ago

Peter Brush

8.9

Lots of cigar, leather, forest floor. Fruit is mostly in the distant background. Drink now. — 9 years ago

Chris Nichols

9.1

Incredible potential with beautiful balance. Black fruit with a spot of white pepper. Nice oak of leather and cigar ash. Not ready yet but will try it in 5 years and probably be blown away. Decanted for 90 minutes and still tight. — 10 years ago

Liz Hale

9.1

Berry, dry, delish. My new boat and beach can of fun!!! — 10 years ago

Joseph C Burke

9.3

1990 Deep ruby; nose of black cherry, tar and cedar; cherry and cassis on palate, bit of eucalyptus and herbs, sweet tobacco and cigar box. Much better than a bottle of '90 I opened 4 weeks ago which was tainted. — 11 years ago

Craig Haserot

Founder and Proprietor Sojourn Cellars

9.7

Magnum - Sweet fruit glycerin cigar box -very tasty — 13 years ago

Antoine Pin

Wine Buyer Kroger/QFC

8.9

Pass! Looks too much like Chocolate Shop. $17 / 88pts — 13 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

Great vintage for GL that was fresh & drinking beautifully at 41 yrs showing red & black fruit, earth, cedar, leather with sweet, savory spice & cigar box — 2 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.1

The 2021 Smash City is bright and floral with a wild blend of crushed strawberries, dusty rose, citrus and spice. This is juicy and fruit-focused, with crisp red berries elevated by traces of citrus under an air of violet inner florals. The Smash City cleans up beautifully, full of energy and perfumed, leaving the palate nicely refreshed. This lively Pinot Noir is produced with all Bien Nacido fruit. (Eric Guido, Vinous, May 2023) — 3 years ago

Jan-Willem van der Hek

9.1

1990 left bank tasting Le Vineur. Alive, bit green, cigar, tobacco, silky, lacks bit of depth but still very enjoyable. Rather prefer the 89... — 6 years ago

Garen Staglin

9.5

Eucalyptus, and cigar box. Cellared direct from winery. Holding up extremely well. Last bottle. 🥵 — 6 years ago

Rick & Connie

9.0

Hints of fruit - finishes dry. Very good. — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

My last 2011 bottle. The estate of Sette Ponti lies in the heart of the Chianti zone, 15 miles northwest of the city of Arezzo, past the village of San Giustino Valdarno. Crognolo, aged in French Allier barriques, deep red with red fruit aromas and sweet perfumed spice. On the palate raspberry and cherry flavors, gentle spice and soft tannins with great mouthfeel. Good balance, lingering finish ending with some oak and mineral tones. Aged well. — 9 years ago

Scorewine

Wine writer http://www.israelwines.co.il

9.0

A fantastic 2002, this lovely wine shows once more that today there aren't really bad years in Bordeaux, this Pontet Canet was well structured rich and tempting. Deep red, tempting rich multi layered nose ripe cherries, black current, coffee, cigar box, and tea leaves, full rich body, dry tannins, full of black fruit, high acidity and a long chewy finish. Was worth the wait, my score 90. Drink to 2022 — 10 years ago

Michelle Camac

9.0

Anniversary dinner! — 11 years ago

Jimmy Smith

Director, West and North London Wine School

9.4

2001: going into a black olive, black truffle note. Rich meaty notes, vibrantly meated, smoky, leather, tobacco, cigar. Towards full, complex, chewy. Light liquorice, light black truffle. Tip top. — 11 years ago

John Kemper

9.9

A dense glass-staining purple, the '06 Charles Smith Syrah 'Royal City' is a monumental wine. Big, pungent aromas of game, truffles, black olives and dried fruits exploded from the glass. Complex, but still seamlessly balanced. The tastes stayed on the palate for a seemingly infinite length of time. Simply wonderful! — 13 years ago

Elsa Gonzalez

9.6

Faustino 1985 sold yesterday @sanangelinn Mexico City! — 13 years ago