2006 Les Tourelles de Longueville, Pauillac
Deep ruby, with a tight rim. Black currant and other black and red fruit, cedar, pencil shavings, roasted coffee beans and liquorice flavours with complex tertiary tones of wood, leather, earth and barnyard notes. Chocolatey, tobacco, nice tannic finish. The palate is youthful; easy to drink; continental-food driven; dry and thinner than we thought and is drinking reasonably well now. The composition is 50% Merlot, 20% cab franc, and 30% cab sauvignon, hence it is straightforward to drink. ABV is 13%, which is nicely balanced.
As rightly put but BBR tasters, this is a wine of true Pauillac class but without the price tag of the Grand Vin.
Pichon Baron, the first wine of Les Tourelles de Longueville, reflects the stylistics of Lynch Bages, as both have been under the baton of Jean-Michel Cazes. For the last ten years, Englishman Christian Seely has been in charge, and quality continues to rise. Latour-like in style, Pichon Baron by now has been a star performer in all our recent blind vintage tastings. 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot aged in 80% new oak. The nose of Les Tourelles de Longueville to a great extent reflect the style of its first wine. Tasters always say that Baron lagged in the refinement of Pichon Comtesse, we would like to say that this is probably not the case anymore.
Not a lot of commentators write and score second wines, and 2006 Les Tourelles de Longueville, Pauillac is an exception.
90 points Wine Spectator Black currant and dark chocolate aromas follow through to a full body, with chewy tannins, very good fruit and an aftertaste of tobacco and berry. Structured and rich. (7/2009)
