2014 - Pichon Baron, Pauillac

Medium to deep garnet-brick in color, the 2014 Pichon Baron offers up serious, straight-laced notes of blackcurrant cordial, cedar chest, and tobacco leaf leading to hints of cardamom, pencil lead, and truffle. The medium-bodied palate is gracefully styled, with lovely tension and ripe, fine-grained tannins, finishing long and minerally.

Grilled cedar on the nose giving appellation signature right from the start, with smoky notes that ripple through the dense blackcurrant and bilberry fruit, along with cocoa bean, liquorice and smoked earth. This remains powerfully concentrated at seven years old, and will take its time to unwind. Give it another three or four years or a good long carafe, and expect it to last for another few decades without breaking a sweat. Enjoyable, this is a brilliance slice of what Pichon Baron can deliver so effortlessly. 80% new oak. Jean-René Matignon technical director.

The 2014 Pichon Baron has a lovely bouquet with blackberry, pencil shavings and touches of warm gravel, very well defined and focused, classic in style. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, fresh and vibrant, with a dash of white pepper and allspice leading to that slightly flinty finish. Maybe it becomes a little creamier than expected, but it's still just a lovely Pauillac drinking perfectly now and will continue to age for many years. N.B. The bottle poured blind at the Southwold tasting exhibited a metallic element on the finish, and I marked it down. Tasted at Bordeaux Index's 10-Year On tasting.