Les Griffons de Pichon Baron 2022 Pauillac

Jeb Dunnuck
(94-96)/100 punten
A solid step up over the Les Tourelles, the 2022 Les Griffons De Pichon Baron is also Merlot-dominated and checks in as 50% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Petit Verdot that will spend 18 months in 40% new French oak. Gorgeously pure cassis, smoked earth, graphite, tobacco, and crushed stone define the aromatics, and it's full-bodied, with a layer, concentrated mid-palate, fine tannins, and a great finish. The purity and precision here are truly something.

Falstaff
94/100 punten
Deep dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections. Hints of cloves and cassis, fine dark wild berryish fruit, tangerine zest. Good complexity, ripe cherries, fine acidity, integrated tannins, mineral, good fruit in the finish. Shows length, a multi-faceted food wine.

Jeff Leve (The Wine Cellar Insider)
(93-95)/100 punten
This elegant expression of Pauillac displays its wealth of cassis, blackberries, chocolate, and flowers easily in the perfume. The palate, however, is where this shines. The layers of ripe, sweet, crème de cassis, peppery, currants, licorice, dark cocoa, and a touch of citrus meld together perfectly. The wine is refined, clean, packed with fruit, reasonably forward, and filled with character. The wine was created from a blend of 50% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Petit Verdot. 

James Suckling
(92-93)/100 punten
Refined and pretty aromas and flavors of currants and blackberries on both the nose and palate. Medium body. Fine tannins and a fresh finish. 

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
(90-92)/100 punten
The 2022 Les Griffons de Pichon Baron is the more serious of the estate's two second wines, with Cabernet Sauvignon rather than Merlot dominating the blend. Revealing aromas of dark berries, cherries, spices and pencil shavings, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, with powdery tannins and a more structured profile than Les Tourelles.

Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux)
92/100 punten
For me this is the one to pick in 2022 from the 2nd wines of Pichon Baron, deep ruby red in colour, a core of intense tannins, crunchy cassis and bilberry fruit, strictly Pauillac with a powerful intense character that is easy to love. Excellent quality, brooding with a ton of spice. 40% new oak. First full year with Pierre Montegnut as technical director, plus first year with new tanks, and sorting facilities, including the abiliity for cold maceration for every plot.

Colin Hay (The Drinks Business)
(92-94)/100
Tasted after Les Tourelles, this is fresher still, bright and crunchy and crisp and aromatically very open and expressive. The tannins are soft, the frame ample and broad-shouldered, but there’s nothing fore-square about this. Limpid, lithe and very impressive, with the kind of mid-palate detail and pixilation that you normally only expect to find in a grand vin. Very fresh and very juicy. The little touch of Petit Verdot (infused in amphorae) brings additional spice and pepper and reinforces the leafy undernotes. Really excellent.

Neal Martin (Vinous)
(93-95)/100 punten
The 2022 Les Griffons de Pichon Baron represents 22% of the production and is matured in 40% new oak. It has a very focused bouquet, a mixture of red and black fruit, crushed violet and a light marine influence. The palate is medium-bodied with sculpted tannins, very tensile, intense yet weightless toward the long graphite-infused finish. This is just superb.