Fruit is brighter, more brilliant than many other 21’s I’ve had. Texturally & fruit-wise senses more like the 23’s I’ve had. It’s gorgeous. Again, needs a decade or more in the cellar.
Round, lush, creamy blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, both plums, poached strawberries, dry, crushed rocks, limestone powder, nice balling spices, caramel, mocha, dry herbs, dry tobacco, lead pencil, dry river stone, leather, melted, dark chocolate, dark spice, fresh & withering dark flowers, red roses, nice round acidity, well balanced, bigger tension & structure, excellent round, excellent finish that last minutes and lands on spice, wet clay and Christmas cake. — 10 days 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. — 2 days ago
Beautiful drinking Barbaresco with its red cherry, berry fruit, spice, licorice, dried herbs, rose petal & tobacco. — 11 days ago
I have been opening up a number of 08 Bordeaux all from owc’s purchased on futures. They all seem to be ready & open with many great years ahead. This had richness & depth showing notes of black fruit, cassis, eucalyptus, sweet spices, graphite & tobacco — 14 days ago
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. — 2 days ago
Red and blue fruit, vanilla oak, sweet berry tannins. — 14 days ago
Pretty deep ruby garnet , medium wide garnet rim . Aromatic and really classic with a mix or red and dark fruits , tobacco , grafite and cedar . On the palate this is quite linear , again with the red and dark fruits from the nose, cedar and grafite and quite rounded resolved tannins . Fresh acidity , good cedar with grafite length , very classic in style . Enough density and fruit to cover the rest of the structure. In a perfect place now at least in this format , and probably will be over the next 10 years . This was from an Imperial , at BBR in London . — 11 days ago
Louis Martin
Rich, robust, burst of fruit, delicious! — 9 days ago