Château Pichon-Longueville-Baron

The neoclassical Château Pichon-Longueville-Baron is probably one of the most famous buildings in the region. The "2ième Grand Cru Classé de Pauillac" is no less famous.

Around 200 years ago, there was only one vineyard with the name Pichon-Longueville on the border between Pauillac and Saint-Julien. It belonged to Jacques de Pichon, Baron de Longueville, the first President of the Bordeaux Parliament, and his wife, whose father Pierre de Mazure de Rauzan had acquired the property in 1660. The property was divided up in the middle of the 19th century.

While the son of the previous owner, Baron Joseph de Pichon-Longueville, retained 2/5 of the property, the three daughters Sophie de Pichon, the Vicomtesse de Lavaur and the Comtesse de Lalande received three fifths of the estate and thus became the owners of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande.

The quality of the vineyards, which today cover 73 hectares, is beyond reproach. This can be seen not only in the quality of the wine, but also in the reputation of the neighbouring wine estates. The estate borders on Château Latour in Pauillac and on Châteaux Léoville-Barton, Léoville-Las Cases and Léoville Poyferré on the border with Saint-Julien. Pichon Baron - as the estate's name is usually abbreviated - became the property of the AXA Millésimes group in 1987 and has been managed since then by Christian Seely - one of the great innovators in Bordeaux.

Under his management, the estate has returned to its former strength. At that time, only a fraction of the estate was under vines. The vineyards were recultivated and a new state-of-the-art cellar was built behind the château. Today, only the plateau opposite Latour is used for the „2ième Cru Classé“. Similar to Latour, a rather masculine wine with powerful tannins is produced there.

The vineyards are planted with around 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, which is typical for Pauillac. The wines mature for 16 to 20 months in 70 to 80% new barriques. In addition to the Grand Cru, which accounts for around 45%, two different second wines are produced: „Les Griffons de Pichon-Longueville“ and „Les Tourelles de Pichon-Longueville“. „Les Tourelles“ is dominated by Merlot (around 2/3) and is the Bordeaux with more rondeur, „Les Griffons“ is the more classic Pauillac with a high proportion of Cabernet.

© Images: Château Pichon-Longueville-Baron, Mathieu Anglada, Serge Chapuis