Château Pichon Longueville Baron or Château Longueville au Baron de Pichon-Longueville (commonly referred to as Pichon Baron) is a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

in the

Pauillac Pauillac (; ) is a municipality in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The city is mid-way between Bordeaux and the Pointe de Grave, along the Gironde, the largest estuary in western Europe. Population Acces ...

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

of the

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Château Pichon Longueville Baron is also the name of the red

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen ''Deuxièmes Crus'' (Second Growths) in the original

Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the Exposition Universelle (1855), 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III of France, Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordea ...

History

Château Pichon Baron was once part of a larger estate, owned by Pierre de Rauzan, along with

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (commonly referred to as Pichon Lalande or Pichon Comtesse) is a winery in the Pauillac appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is also the name ...

. In 1850 the estate was divided into the two current Pichon estates. In 1987 the estate was purchased by French insurance company

AXA Axa S.A. is a French multinational insurance corporation headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It also provides investment management and other financial services via its subsidiaries. As of 2024, it is the fourth largest financi ...

, who immediately appointed

Jean-Michel Cazes Jean-Michel Cazes (25 March 1935 – 28 June 2023) was a French winemaker and insurance executive. He managed the wine holdings of AXA Millésimes until 2000, the family insurance agency, and the Cazes family estates until 2006. He was the son ...

Château Lynch-Bages Château Lynch-Bages is a winery in the Pauillac appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Lynch-Bages is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of eighteen ''Cinquièmes ...

as administrator. The property is currently managed by Englishman Christian Seely. H. Johnson & J. Robinson (2005). ''The World Atlas of Wine'', p. 90 Mitchell Beazley Publishing,

Vineyard

Château Pichon Baron's 73 hectares are planted with

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

(60%),

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

(35%),

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

(4%) and

Petit Verdot Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, ...

(1%). The planting density is 9 000 vines per hectare using a double Guyot training and the average age of the vines is 30 years. The yield is typically less than 40 hectoliters per hectare.PichonLongueville.com: Fiche technique
(technical data sheet) The vineyard is situated at the southern end of the commune of Pauillac near border with the

Saint-Julien-Beychevelle Saint-Julien-Beychevelle (; ) is a Communes of France, commune on the left bank of the Garonne estuary in the Gironde Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population Wine The village lies northwest ...

appellation.

Wine

Grapes are harvested and sorted by hand, and then

macerated Maceration is the process of preparing foods through the softening or breaking into pieces using a liquid. Raw, dried or preserved fruit or vegetables are soaked in a liquid to soften the food, or absorb the flavor of the liquid into the food. ...

for 20–30 days, and

fermented Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic compound, Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are Catabo ...

at 28–32 °C in temperature controlled stainless steel vats of varying sizes. The wine is transferred into oak barrels for aging after finishing its

malolactic fermentation Malolactic conversion (also known as malolactic fermentation or MLF) is a process in winemaking in which Tart (flavor), tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid. Malolactic fermentation ...

. The estate also produces a second wine, Les Tourelles de Longueville.

References

External links

Château Pichon Longueville Baron official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pichon Longueville Baron, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers Châteaux in Gironde