Young, but not quite primary, there is so much fruit, the tannins are so ripe, the textures have enough silk that if you them on the y9oung side, you can pop a cork today. Else wait until the wine hits 20 and then look out! Apr 2016, www.thewinecellarinsider.com
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar InsiderScore: 96/100
Offers crushed currant and blackberry on the nose, turning to tar and licorice. Full-bodied, with a solid core of ripe fruit and seamless tannins. Goes on and on. Very, very beautiful. A cross between the 2000 and fabulous 2003. Best after 2013. 20,000 cases made. James Suckling, Wine Spectator 2008
Wine SpectatorScore: 94/100
Wow. So much bright fruit in this with orange peel and black currant character. Floral and lively. Full body, silky tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Hard not to drink now. Do it. Jun 2016, www.jamessuckling.com
James SucklingScore: 94/100
The Château Pichon-Baron 2005 has a not dissimilar bouquet to the Pichon-Lalande with bright red and black fruit infused with cedar and violets, almost Margaux-like in character. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin: more masculine than Pichon-Lalande, you could almost say more rustic. Yet there is immense length and persistence here, real depth and vigour on the muscular finish. Yet I might just prefer the property over the road in this vintage. Feb 2015, www.robertparker.com, Drink: 2020-2050
Neal MartinScore: 94/100Drink 2020-2050
94+ points. Dark red-ruby. Multidimensional nose offers deep aromas of currant, cedar, coffee, tobacco and minerals. The palate offers a rare combination of sweetness, energy and depth, with superb grip and a layered texture to the flavors of plum, cedar, tobacco and minerals. The finish features sweet, noble tannins and outstanding length. I find this more complete and ultimately more exciting than the 2003, but this will need at least a decade of cellaring. (The 2006 was in the middle of a racking and difficult to taste, but this wine conveyed the same impression of ripeness, energy and structure that my sample did last spring.) May 2008, www.vinous.com
Stephen Tanzer, VinousScore: 94/100
The 2005 Pichon Baron has a dense ruby/purple color, sweet creme de cassis fruit, lots of cedar wood and forest floor, medium to full body, ripe tannin, and a long finish of a good 30+ seconds. This is a beauty and one of the most successful Pauillacs of this vintage. Drink it now through 2035. Jun 2015, www.robertparker.com
Robert ParkerScore: 93/100
17+ points. A second bottle kindly supplied by Christian Seely of AXA Millésimes who did not recognise my description of this wine when I tasted it in this extensive blind tasting of 2005s at 12 years old. Deep dark garnet. Dense, concentrated and briary. It does have relatively elevated acidity and still very marked tannins so I would not choose to drink it for quite a while, but it is certainly dense and impressive persistence. (Okay, Christian, not a all 'scrawny'. Was the wrong wine poured into my glass? At the beginning of each flight we tasters circled the table with numbered bottles trying to get them in the right glasses, but this was the sixth flight of the day, after we had tasted 60 wines.) Mar 2017, www.jancisrobinson.com, Drink: 2023-2040
Jancis Robinson MWScore: 17/20Drink 2023-2040
Bordeaux / France
2020-2050