Mike Saviage

9.7

From a great old looking bottle with a mid shoulder fill. Cork is fully saturated and the crud under the capsule had formed a strong seal. Slow-ox’d for a few hours, then decanted for an hour or two before taken to L’Escargot in Carmel. Amber tawny rims with a reddish tawny core. Crazy nose right from the start. Notes of sweet black cherries, tobacco leaf, plums, black pepper, ash and crusty wood, pencil shavings, some just unwrapped cigar and some menthol. Silky in the mouth with firm structure and soft but present acidity. Long and memorable finish. Outstanding performance over several hours. — 6 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Beautiful drinking claret showing red berry fruits, leather, tobacco leaf & rose petal wrapped up in an elegant & floral style. — 7 years ago

Rob Mayes

9.7

Outstanding. Winner of the weekend. — 9 years ago

V M

9.6

A pauillac like nose of cassis, truffles, and violets reveal a palate full of dense berries and dark cherry cut by tobacco leaf and charred cedar wood. Finish still a bit tight. This is still drinking young but evolving well — 9 years ago

Rose’s Cafe

9.1

Nice! Juicy with notes of oak and vanilla. 😀🍷 — 10 years ago

Kelsey Redd

9.0

Chardonnay: tropical fruit, butterscotch, pineapple, peach, nectarine. Oak character. Rich texture and a creamy mouth-feel. — 10 years ago

Christopher Legere

9.1

Good cab with fruit flavors — 10 years ago

Craig Williams

9.0

1.5 L bottle Other than a really poor quality cork that crumbled upon removal, this wine remains a youthful dark red with black currant, tobacco leaf-savory soy aromas. In good shape for such a modestly extracted wine. Demonstrates the strength of quality harvest conditions, which '94 was in many ways. — 11 years ago

Nathan Evans

9.0

Delicious! Very aromatic and sweet! — 11 years ago

Lily Mirabelle Freedman

9.0

Tomato leaf, leather, and cool funk — 11 years ago

DAL 9000

9.1

Very smooth initial flavor. Light bodied plummy that fills the nose with red berries after swallowing. More intense after it breathes. — 13 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Youthful & drinking like a 10 yr old Cab. Lots of red & black fruits, cassis, menthol, cedar, leather, licorice & tobacco leaf. — 6 years ago

LM Segal

9.5

Outstanding and ready for business. Bay leaf and tobacco nose led a lush, velvety and completely integrated rainbow of dark red fruit, cherries and nutty earth. Perfect display of the potential of Tig in the good years. — 7 years ago

with Melissa

Peter Sultan

9.4

Never tire of this, really: layers of delicate & fine red fruits, integrated tannins, that bay leaf, ground tobacco leaf urgh at its base & still oodles of time to go. So fresh. — 9 years ago

with Paul and Owen

Hannah K

9.4

Really nice, cloudy, sweet, not too sweet, easy to drink, pretty — 9 years ago

Aaron Dornstreich

9.2

Just beginning to show edges of secondary, still young & structured. Savory, briar, leaf. Begging for food! — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

Dry light fruit perfume nose with herbs. Fruits have turned to rustic figs, prunes and dates, dry cranberries/rhubarb/pomegranate, dark cherries that have taken on a slight liqueur quality, ripe strawberries, spiced plum cedar, soft used leather, tobacco leaf, powdery crushed rocks, anise and a lean dry, high acid fig, date, prune and cooked light to mid red cooked fruit finish. Out of magnum. — 10 years ago

Bill Bender

9.4

I thought this was in a very good spot, still has a lot of fruit with tobacco, bay leaf, cedar and round rich cherry predominating. Very inviting fresh violet nose. Lots of round edges and a medium long finish. My RWOTN. — 10 years ago

with Steve and romo

Kari Johnson

9.6

Smooth flavor, fruity, sweet but not too sweet — 11 years ago

Joe Paradise

9.1

One of, if not my favorite, rioja producers. Fruit on the 03 is a bit crisper than other vintages. Cranberry, tomato (leaf?), deftly deliberate oxidation, earth and savory balsamic, all framed in lovely oak. Fine integrated tannin. Long savory finish — 11 years ago

Tim Herrmann

9.7

Decanted for an hour, this was intensely aromatic with a complex melange of flavors--vanilla, figs, cherries, green olives, tobacco leaf, cinnamon, and chalky dust--while staying light on its feet with refreshing acidity, resolved, silky tannins, and medium body. Even at this price, I'd call this a value. — 11 years ago

Sidney Jackson

9.0

Not bad for the price def drink again! — 6 years ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.4

Dusty, earthy nose of tea leaf, humidor, caramel-latte, leather and damp soil. The structured palate echoes the nose but also reveals cedar, graphite, beef blood and dark forest fruit. Tannines are wonderfully rounded and ripe. Medium to full-bodied, this is a gorgeous 95-leftbanker. 🤙🏻 — 7 years ago

William Hughes

9.3

Aging beautifully! Still loads of currant and lavender. Add a touch of iodine and some more black fruit, mix with lean tannins and fine acidity. Here is to Maryland wines! — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I have to say this is my favorite Chateau to stand in front of and gaze. On the nose, spice, wild blackberries, dark cherries, blueberries, black plum, plum, leather, cedar, dark moist soil, wet stones, mint, tobacco leaf and dark fresh & dry flowers. It's drinking nicely with silty medium-medium + tannins & full bodied. Ruby, ripe wild blackberries, dark cherries, blueberries, black plum, plum, leather, cedar, dark moist soil, wet stones, crushed dry minerals, mint, tobacco leaf and violets, dark fresh & dry flowers. The acidity is round and mouthwatering. The long finish has great elegance, beauty, length, tension & balance. It's just starting to hit it's stride and has plenty of life ahead of it. Another 15-20 years. Who said 04 was a difficult vintage? This will continue to improve and will stun with another 10 years in bottle. Photos of the the exterior Chateau front & side, tasting room and Christian Seely Managing Director. Chateau Pichon Baron and Chateau Pichon Lalande were originally part of the same estate. Pichon Baron got it's name when Therese, daughter of the founder, received the estate as a dowry when she married Jacques de Pichon Longueville the first President of the Bordeaux Parliament. Chateau Pichon Baron changed because of the Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville. He took over managing Pichon Baron when he was only 19 years old! When the Baron passed away at 90 in 1850, he divided his Pauillac estate. The sons were awarded what became Chateau Pichon Baron and the daughters were given what later became Chateau Pichon Lalande. Pichon Baron went through three rough decades in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Part of the issues were, lack of investment and they machine harvested. The first really great vintages for them were 89 & 90 after Jean Rene Matignon, Jean-Michel Cazes join them and AXA Insurance Company purchased them adding capital. The 73 hectare vineyard of Chateau Pichon Baron are planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. However, the Cabernet Franc and the Petit Verdot are reserved exclusively for the second wine. The terroir is mostly deep gravel, sand clay soils. Pichon Baron uses 80% new French oak and rests in barrel 18 months. @ FogoDeChao

— 9 years ago

B

10

Magnum 1985 Sassicaia. Fourth red at post-museum lunch at Il P. This wine was excellent and so different from the three '82s we tried alongside it. This one was more structured, had more and varied flavors, and a very long, smooth finish. I preferred this one, but K preceded the '82 Monfortino. — 10 years ago

Lili Brock

10

Excellent. Sweet but not overbearing. — 10 years ago

Mark Calkin

9.2

#wsetschool Deeply ruby coloured top level Rioja with large quantity of Graciano given it that deep intensity. Pronounced nose of black cherries, red currants and cranberries, with wet leaf notes. There are smoke and toast, cinnamon and cedar from its time in oak, and of course there are tertiary aromas from bottle ageing, like: tobacco, game, leather and dried fruits. This has medium (+) tannins and acidity and an excellent long finish. — 11 years ago

Hum

9.7

2002 vintage...profound tomato leaf, graphite, old leather, cassis, wet tobacco... Silky yet firm on the palate. A little taut but still drinking so well right now. Really, a treat. — 11 years ago

Morgan Harris

Head Sommelier Aureole New York

9.4

2011. Blanc. No one drinks enough of this. That's because there are so few things to which its a good partner, but it would be an incredible cheese-and-charcuterie wine. Broad and oily, there's just enough acid to keep you coming back for more. Sun-baked yellow orchard fruits dominate, but there's more exotic fruits too (mango and dried pineapple) yellow flowers, tons of almond husk bitterness, green olives, bay leaf, oregano, tarragon, white cheddar. Oak is assertively present but not overwhelming. Place dominates over grapes here, as it's a mix of Clairette and Grenache Blanc and a hodge-podge of other things. — 11 years ago