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. — 10 months ago

Harrison Mills

10

Rich dark fruit, blackberry/raspberry tone with no tannins. Full bodied. Expensive, but worth the price. A special occasion wine — a year ago

Cecil Ramirez

9.2

2007 vintage. Deep garnet color w hints of light brown; full bodied, satin mouthfeel. Blackfruit, bell pepper, cocoa, earth, leather notes. Balanced tannin, long soft finish. — 6 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

Last night in MT at the lake. Gave this several hours of air. Nice dark tawny color. Vibrant in the glass. The nose is great right away and stayed on point through the evening. Notes of black cherries, warm raspberries, old cedar, some plums and a little leather saddle. Rich and silky in the mouth. Velvet glove. Long finish. Great wine. — 7 years ago

Andrea Watt

9.1

Full red fruit and spice with smoke and woody honey. Smooth as silk. — 8 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

This was fully mature and all about black fruits, cassis, cedar, earth, mocha, mushroom & tobacco. Full bodied, elegant with polished & silky tannins. — 9 years ago

Julie Reeves

10

Full bodied, low acidity, blackberries — 10 years ago

Pierre Arneaux

9.2

Wow. More flavor, much better than their regular cab. Silky, velvet, smooth. Chocolate. Rich fruit. Big, full flavor, lots of flavor. Not old world style for sure, not subtle. It's a big bomb. We would pay up to $75 for this so a bit overpriced to us.
— 10 years ago

Adrien Paczosa

10

Amazing!! Full body with a smooth mouth feel. — 12 years ago

Meredith Wieck

10

Full body. Delicious. Good price. — 12 years ago

Richard Rynda

9.8

Super tasting. Full of berries. 13.9%. — 13 years ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Château Lynch-Bages 2023 – Pauillac, Grand Cru Classé, BDX, France 🇫🇷

Overview
A powerful, structurally driven Pauillac showing serious depth and long-term ambition, built on a 71% Cabernet Sauvignon–dominant blend with 22% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot support. The wine carries muscular architecture, dark fruit density, and firm tannic authority, currently showing some youthful rough edges but clearly positioned for future greatness with proper cellaring.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackcurrant, cassis liqueur, blackberry skin, graphite, cedar plank, crushed gravel, tobacco leaf, dark cocoa and subtle savory spice.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied with firm, youthful tannins, strong mid-palate grip, vibrant supporting acidity, dense core concentration, and a long, structured finish that signals serious aging capacity.

Food Pairings
Dry-aged ribeye, grilled lamb chops, beef short ribs, rosemary-crusted venison, aged hard cheeses, slow-braised meats.

Verdict
A high-potential Pauillac still in its formative phase. The structure, depth, and terroir signature are undeniable, but integration will require time. A climber rather than a polished performer today, patience will be rewarded handsomely.

🍷 Personal Pick
This feels like a future star in development, powerful, slightly raw, but absolutely loaded with upside. Not a wine for instant gratification, but one that will evolve into something truly special with time. I’d happily cellar this and revisit around 2029 when the polish finally matches the horsepower. — 10 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured from my cellar. The cork was absolutely perfect. The 2005 pours a rather turbid, deep garnet at nearly 17 years old. There's quite a bit of fine sediment that clings to the edge of the glass with each swirl. Medium+ viscosity. On the nose, this was initially a bit grumpy but within minutes, it relaxed and started to show some real charm. A fully developed wine, this is becoming a bit of a Leather Daddy, full of leather (obviously), bruised and desiccated red, black and blue fruits, Christmas spice fruit cake, coffee, damp earth, and candied nuts. On the palate, the fruit remains quite stunning and confirms the mix of bruised and desiccated fruit with a sort of sherried character. Loads of salmiakki (salted licorice), spiced nuts, pepper, coffee and, you guessed it, leather. The wine was dry, technically, but almost gives the sensation of some RS with all of the over-ripe fruits and the texture was almost sappy, in some ways. However, while this was absolutely rich and well-endowed, it was not cloying. Tannins have fully integrated (though still present) and the acid was like a girdle keeping everything held together. This remains a rather large personality even if it's showing its age. Definitely in a lovely spot...but how much longer will that last? If this wasn't my last bottle, I would probably be drinking these over the next five years unless you want the full Leather Daddy experience...which is okay if that's your thing. — 5 years ago

Conrad Green

9.8

A treat. Dark in color, slightly cloudy. A powerful nose with dark, very mouton fruit. Incredibly aromatic, blackcurrant, mint,graphite, dried herbs, eucalyptus. The palate is extraordinary. So dense and powerful for a wine of almost 70 years. Dark fruit with a savory undertow- leather, thyme, sour cherry, dark chocolate. Really precise flavors and long. After an hour or two in glass there’s notes of coconut and soft wood. Extraordinary. Clearly there’s a lot of age on this but the sheer quality makes for a really dynamic wine. An exceptional bottle, and a teal treat. — 8 years ago

with Howard, Tony and 1 other

Chris England

9.4

Top year 904 @ £75 that was drank in Zalto burg glass as its like an aged burgundy

🐽 Paired w/ Iberian Ham 😍

🍷 Garnet ruby w/ brick

👃 Smoked burnt oak, soggy earthy leaves, leather, dark cherry & figs w/ balsamic & damson

👄 Med body of creamy stewed cherry w/ earthy balsamic & slight mocha

🎯 Med finish of above w/ earthy balsamic linger

Reaching peak but I preferred the 95 904 over this but the 890 94 was better than the 95! — 9 years ago

Martin Chang

9.5

Great value. Full body, dark, chocolate. Goes well with steak. $19 Costco. 2015 — 10 years ago

John Van Trijp

9.5

What a beautiful wine! 1966 and still full of life! Wooow — 11 years ago

Justin Francis

9.5

This beautiful 2005 cab was an anniversary gift from a great friend of mine @Jeff Savigny The vintage is the year we got married. The nose is so complex and yet so subdued, it practically blew my mind. A nose full of roses, tobacco, dark fruit and licorice with a hint of molasses and vanilla. On the palate very dry, with a faint aged acidity, yet very rich and delicious. You can spend just as much time smelling this as drinking it. This was a near perfect wine and a great anniversary present! — 12 years ago

John Langley

9.0

Powerful, full bodied cab. Flavors of ripe blackberry and spice. High alcohol and long lasting tannins throughout a nice finish. Consistent producer who constantly delivers. — 14 years ago

Tom Garland

9.3

Decant for sediment and pour(decent chunky/fine sediment). A striking dark ruby red color. On the nose: jumping from the glass are port drenched cherries, pencil shavings, tobacco, toffee, balsamic, and cinnamon. Taste: silky, balanced, still fresh wine with currants, little dried cherry, tobacco, earth, dried herbs, and a spicy saline graphite satisfying finish. YUM! In the home stretch, drink. — 10 months ago

with Brenda

Tree Kilpatrick

9.6

This was a gift from a close friend who worked for Silver Oak as a garden manager until they eliminated that part of their business. Beautiful color in the glass. Ruby with a hint of rust on the edge. Aroma is complex with berries and flint. Also just a hint of pine needles. Christmas trees. Flavors are full and fine. This is BIG BOY wine. Delicious. — 10 months ago

Nick Brandon

9.1

Deep, but undiscernable fruity characteristics on the nose.
Plummy, jammy notes and very drinkable. Full-bodied and spicy. Some dark chocolate notes, too.

Paired with wild grains, sauteéd greens, and baked salmon filets. — 5 years ago

Joe Ho

9.8

Deep currents in the nose with a beautiful round smooth mouth full of flower petals light citrus and berries. — 7 years ago

Allison Rich

9.4

Rich, full bodied cab. Notes of toasted oak and coffee. Great finish. Delicious just opened and even better after aerating/breathing. — 8 years ago

Michael Lavely

9.3

My new favorite. Lots of fruit. Full body. — 9 years ago

Andrew Lubeck

8.9

Rich though lacked some oomph. May have been open awhile (by the glass) — 9 years ago

Ellen

9.0

Deliciously full bodied. Great with capon! — 10 years ago

Cathy Hoang Scurci

9.4

Mar 12, 2016--Full body and smooth. — 11 years ago

Nicole Alexandra Martinez

9.4

Bright with a dark ruby purple core lightening slightly at the rim. Aromatic with ripe black cherry, cassis and a touch of red berry brightness, with toasted vanilla, licorice, and cinnamon spice combined with cedar and subtle smoky cocoa notes. Full bodied with black cherry, black currant, and red berry fruit on the entry, mixed with complex spice of vanilla, licorice and cola accents.. — 12 years ago

Francesco Pilo

9.0

Red/garnet, intense, complex, full bodied, red fruit and spices, good tannins, long finish #ProduttoriDelBarbaresco — 12 years ago