2018 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron Les Tourelles de Longueville

Château Pichon Baron, located in Pauillac, is a neighbor to some of the most emblematic Châteaux in the world like Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild, and Château Latour.

This Château dates back to the 17th century when Pierre Desmezures de Rauzan, a famous wine merchant of the time, bought the plots to create Enclos Rauza. Soon after, it became his daughter's dowry in her marriage to Jacques Pichon de Longueville, and that was when Pichon Baron was born. In 1851, construction of the iconic castle began. Later in 1855, the Château's wine was classified as Second Grand Cru Classé.

In 1933, this emblematic estate became the property of the Bouteiller family. Today, Château Baron belongs to AXA Millésime's insurance group. These new owners rebuilt and equipped the Château with state-of-the-art technology. 

Like almost all of Pauillac, the terroir from Château Baron is a dream site overlooking the Gironde river. The soils of this 180-acre estate, are composed of quaternary gravel deposits, large pebbles and sand, and an excellent maritime climate. 

With Christian Seely as the director since 2001 and Jean Rene Matignon as the winemaker, the winery continues to grow both in terms of wine and tourism, becoming one of the most prestigious Châteaux in the Médoc area. If you're a wine lover and love to travel, this is a must-visit place.

Les Tourelles de Longueville is Château Pichon Baron's second label. This "Lovely second wine"as James Suckling called it, is the perfect introduction to the spirit of Pichon Baron's Grand Vin. 

Aging: 18 months in French oak barrels, 40% new, and 60% one-year-old.

66% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. Beautiful, intense, dark color. Ripe red fruit and black cherry aromas spring up in the bouquet. In the mouth, the attack is soft, juicy, delicate, and melting. The finish is generous on the palate, persistent, subtle, and dense. The tannins are elegant and fresh. The whole is complete, voluminous, balanced, and harmonious.

Aromas of currants, walnuts, and blackberries follow through to a full-bodied palate with fine, chewy tannins and a linear finish. Shows polish and beautiful length. Lovely second wine. Try after 2025. ~94 James Suckling.

One of the two-second wines from this estate, this is dominated by Merlot, giving a rounded, jammy character that is comfortably filled out with generous tannins. With chocolate and spice flavors, the wine is developing well. Drink from 2025. ~93 Wine Enthusiast.  

The more Merlot-dominated 2018 Les Tourelles De Longueville (66% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) is a rocking little Pauillac with loads of red and black currant fruits, toasted spiced, dried tobacco, and earthy goodness on the nose. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully textured, it's well worth seeking out and is going to evolve for 10-15 years. ~93 Jeb Dunnuck.

The nose is fresh and offers power, delicacy as well as a certain intensity (in freshness), a beautiful finesse of the grain. It reveals notes of fleshy blackberry, fleshy/fat cassis, and small notes of raspberry associated with touches of violet plum as well as hints of violet, a racy minerality (terroir) as well as fine hints of green cardamom, caramelization, and a hint of bourbon vanilla pod. The palate is beautifully fresh and offers gourmandize, minerality, juiciness, and a beautiful definition as well as a beautiful finesse of the grain, a bright fruit that brings purity and an acidulous frame. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of pulpy/fresh blackberry, fleshy/fresh raspberry, and small notes of racy minerality associated with touches of violet, tea, saffron, small fresh/fleshy fruits as well as hints of chocolate, a racy minerality, tonka bean, caramelization, very discreet hints of toasted hazelnut and a subtle hint of gravy minerality (in the background). Good length. Tannins are well-built and elegant. Fine hints of chocolate and toasted oak on the persistence. ~93 VertdeVin.

The 2018 Les Tourelles de Longueville is loaded with character. A generous base of Merlot gives the Tourelles its flesh, while the Cabernets and Petit Verdot add aromatic savoriness to balance things out. Time in the glass brings out dark cherry, plum, spice, chocolate, dried herbs and menthol. I would give the 2018 a few years in bottle to fully come together. The Tourelles is just as inviting as it was en primeur.  ~92 Vinous Media. 

This wine has the highest percentage of Merlot in the Pichon Baron range, but probably more structure than it ever has before due to the density and tannic bite of the Merlots in 2018. There is certainly a serious aspect to it, with a feeling of rippling fruit and tannins that are laying out a path for the wine to develop over the next few years. It’s good quality and my favorite of the property’s ‘second wines’ in this vintage. ~91 Decanter.

The merlot-heavy among the two-second wines from Pichon-Baron. Dark ruby ​​garnet, violet reflections, broader ocher edge brightening. Delicate cherry fruit, red berry aspects, delicate tobacco spiciness, somewhat reserved. Medium-bodied, fine plum fruit, slightly demanding tannins, still a bit bulky on the finish, still needs time. ~91 Falstaff.

The 2018 Les Tourelles de Longueville is composed of 66% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot, aged for 18 months in barriques, 40% new, and 60% one-year-old. Production of this label represents 30% of the harvest this year. Deep garnet-purple in color, it offers intense scents of baked blackberries, blackcurrant cordial, and plum preserves, with touches of black truffles, charcoal, and dark chocolate. The medium-bodied palate is delightfully refreshing and soft-textured, delivering plenty of juicy black fruits and loads of savory sparks, finishing long and lifted. ~90 Robert Parker.

Cassis, dark cherry and plum purée notes are sleek in feel as they move along in lockstep, while violet, warm earth, and dark tea nuances fill in the background. Solid. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2022 through 2030. ~90 Wine Spectator.

***Free Shipping on 6 or More Bottles of This Wine***