2 hour decant. A marvelous medium garnet color (decent fine sediment). On the nose: dark berries, cassis, forest floor, sandalwood, pencil shavings, chocolate, and cigar box. Taste: layered, balanced, still young wine with dark cherry/plum, cedar, dark chocolate, charcoal, and a lingering tobacco/leather finish. YUM! No hurry, a long distance Las Cases. — 6 months ago

Leather, cigar box, with some acid and sling bitterness on the finish — 6 years ago
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 — 5 months ago
Paid $10 at Hy-Vee since it was in the wrong basket — 6 months ago
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
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
Great IPA to start a Monday evening! #cigarcitybrewing — 6 years ago
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. — 4 months ago
Smooth, hint of sour cherry, cigar and leather flavor, bolder than a normal Margaux due to the higher level of Petit Merlot in the blend, paired beautifully with a rich pumpkin ravioli dish. — 6 months ago
I don‘t know. This has so much oak it overpowers everything. Might need another 10 years to be approachable. Cigar box, black berries. Deep, big and profound. I am not sure I would spend 70$ on this. It needs much much more time. Probably needs to be open for 2 days. Out of the machine at the Wine House in LA. — 7 months ago
Tried this 2x recently. Wow! Ruby with complex fruit aromas, spice and oak. Blend of 90% Tempranillo & 10% Graciano, 48 mos on American oak. On the palate ripe Berry fruits, powerful yet elegant, with spice & smoky earthy notes on full tannins. Long finish, nice mouthfeel, ending with mineral earthy tones and cigar box spice, a joy to Sip!! Tasting great, has more aging potential, try in 10+ years! Great Value! — 6 years ago
Timothy Eustis
Wine Director, Red Lion Inn
2016 out of magnum. Cigar box. Ripe tannins. Beautiful. — 4 months ago