Pichon Longueville Baron 2000

Parker: This is one of the great wines of the vintage, and certainly a candidate for one of the finest wines made at this estate under the management of Christian Seeley and proprietor AXA. Showing incredibly well at two tastings of 2000s, the wine has a dense bluish/purple color and a beautiful nose of incense, melted asphalt, and creme de cassis as well as hints of new saddle leather and licorice. It is superbly concentrated and very pure, with excellent texture and opulence. The acidity seems low, the tannin high but well-integrated. This is a compelling 2000 that is just closing in on its window of maturity and should stay there for at least 20 or more years. Bravo! 97/100

Galloni: The 2000 Pichon-Baron has long been a great wine, after what in retrospect was a middling period during the 1990s. It retains a wonderful bouquet of blackberry, raspberry, mineral and pencil lead that is both intense and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin. A masculine and slightly backward Pauillac, yet the arching structure is very impressive and there is a sense of solidity toward the dried-blood-tinged finish. This puts a marker down between what comes before and what comes after at this Second Growth. Tasted at the Pichon-Baron vertical at the château. Drinking Window 2020 - 2045. 95/100