2005 Chateau Pichon-Longueville au Baron de Pichon-Longueville, Pauillac, France 750ml

As usual, this superb Pauillac possesses an inky/blue/black color in addition to a big, sweet nose of graphite, charcoal, burning embers, black currant liqueur, and toasty vanillin from new oak casks. Full-bodied with high but sweet, well-integrated tannins, the 2005 Pichon Baron is more backward than the blockbuster 2003 or prodigious 2000. Nevertheless, it is a superb effort whose power, length, and tannic structure suggest it should be at its peak between 2015-2035

Tasted single blind at Southwold. This does not quite have the same lift on the nose as the Les Forts or Carruades but with aeration I am certain it would have offered more. Aromas of macerated black cherries, boysenberry and a touch of graphite but always remaining tight. The palate has good depth, nice grip but not over-bearing. There is certainly a lot of unresolved new oak here and this certainly needs time with a slightly furry finish with notes of cedar and blackberry with just a touch of tar. Brooding intensity ? one for the cellar (perhaps akin to the ?90?) Drink 2015-2030+. Tasted January 2009.

Tasted single blind at Southwold. This does not quite have the same lift on the nose as the Les Forts or Carruades but with aeration I am certain it would have offered more. Aromas of macerated black cherries, boysenberry and a touch of graphite but always remaining tight. The palate has good depth, nice grip but not over-bearing. There is certainly a lot of unresolved new oak here and this certainly needs time with a slightly furry finish with notes of cedar and blackberry with just a touch of tar. Brooding intensity ? one for the cellar (perhaps akin to the ?90?) Drink 2015-2030+. Tasted January 2009.