WINEMAKER'S NOTES:
Complex spiced aromatic balsam woods nose is followed by a complex spiced wood quite firm tannins with slowly increasing red currant cassis and cherry fruits. Quite firm long aftertaste.
TASTING NOTES:
Blackberry, with violet and currant undertones. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long finish. A little tight still. Give it some time. This is layered and rich. Classy.
- Wine Spectator, 90 pts.
A stylish, elegant, more restrained style of Pichon Baron, with less obvious new oak than usual, this deep ruby/purple-colored wine offers a pure black currant-scented nose with subtle aromas of coffee and smoky toasty oak. In the mouth, the wine displays less weight and muscle than the 1996, but it offers suave, elegant, rich fruit presented in a medium to full-bodied, surprisingly lush style.
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 90 pts.
