Château Pichon-Longueville, Les Griffons de Pichon Baron, 2018

"Dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, this is one of a pair of second wines from this estate. With its classic Pauillac black-currant flavors and dense tannins, the wine is a slow developer. By 2025, it should show great fruits and a balanced texture."

"The 2018 Les Griffons De Pichon Baron is normally a more Cabernet Sauvignon dominated cuvée, but Merlot excelled in 2018 and the blend is closer to an even split of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It's a much more focused, tight, backward wine compared to the Les Tourelles and has a terrific nose of spiced blackcurrants, tobacco leaf, chocolate, and lead pencil. This gives way to a medium to full-bodied wine with ripe yet firm tannins, impressive overall balance, and outstanding length. It's certainly a more classic, focused Pauillac and will benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and drink nicely for a decade."

"The 2018 Les Griffons de Pichon Baron is a heady, wild Pauillac. An exotic mélange of inky black fruit, chocolate, spice, grilled herbs, espresso and new oak gives the Griffons its extroverted personality. The tannins need a bit of time to soften, but there is plenty to look forward to. This is an especially dense, rich Pauillac."