Château Pichon Longueville Baron

Château Pichon Baron's roots trace to the estate's own heritage page, which dates to 1689 the purchase, by the wine merchant Pierre Desmezures de Rauzan, of vineyard plots near Château Latour that formed what became known as Enclos Rauzan. In 1694 those vines passed to Rauzan's daughter Thérèse as part of her dowry when she married Baron Jacques François de Pichon Longueville, the year the estate considers its founding. The property remained in the Pichon Longueville family for four generations until 1849, when Joseph de Pichon Longueville, the fourth generation to hold it, died. In 1850 his estate was divided among his five children: Baron Raoul Pichon de Longueville's share became the Pichon Baron estate, while his three sisters inherited the remainder, which became Pichon Comtesse. Raoul, whose full name the estate records as Raoul Jacques Albert Paulin de Pichon-Longueville, renamed his property Château Pichon Longueville au Baron de Pichon Longueville, and in 1851 he commissioned the present château, built in a style inspired by Renaissance architecture, with the two turrets that remain the estate's emblem. During the 1855 Universal Exhibition, the wine was classified a Second Grand Cru Classé under the ranking system commissioned for Emperor Napoleon III, alongside Pichon Comtesse. In 1933 Marie Jean Bernard Albert de Pichon Longueville sold the property to the Bouteiller family, who managed it for more than 50 years. AXA Millésimes bought the estate in 1987 under the leadership of its then-chairman, Claude Bébéar, entrusting management to Jean-Michel Cazes as General Manager. An architectural competition run with the Pompidou Centre in Paris followed, and reconstruction of the fermenting room and cellar, together with renovation of the château, ran from 1988 to 1992.

• Vineyard plots near Château Latour purchased by wine merchant Pierre Desmezures de Rauzan in 1689 (per the estate's heritage page; the estate's historical timeline dates the same purchase to 1684, see notes)
• Estate founded in 1694, when the Rauzan vines passed to Thérèse de Rauzan's husband, Baron Jacques François de Pichon Longueville, as part of her dowry
• 1850 division of Joseph de Pichon Longueville's estate among his five children: Baron Raoul's share became Pichon Baron, his three sisters' share became Pichon Comtesse
• Classified a Second Grand Cru Classé in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification
• Sold by the Pichon Longueville family to the Bouteiller family in 1933; bought by AXA Millésimes in 1987 under chairman Claude Bébéar, with Jean-Michel Cazes as General Manager

The 92-hectare vineyard sits in the Pauillac appellation on the Médoc's left bank, roughly 40 kilometres north of Bordeaux, near the Gironde estuary. Its quaternary gravel soils, with the large pebbles and sand typical of the appellation, retain enough water to feed the vines' roots while the gravel's undulating relief drains well; proximity to the Gironde gives the site a moderating maritime climate. The vineyard is planted to 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Sémillon, divided into individually managed plots, at a density of 9,000 vines per hectare, with an average vine age of 35 years. The estate's finest land, known as the Butte de Pichon Baron, has been used to make the Grand Vin since 1694 and today supplies the majority of that blend. Harvesting is done exclusively by hand, with bunches selected by varietal, vine age and plot.

• 92 hectares in Pauillac, on the Médoc's left bank near the Gironde estuary; quaternary gravel and sand soils
• Planted to 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Sémillon
• Planting density of 9,000 vines per hectare; average vine age approximately 35 years
• The Butte de Pichon Baron, in use since 1694, is the estate's historic core plot and anchors the Grand Vin blend
• Harvest is done exclusively by hand, with grapes selected by varietal, vine age and plot

Grapes arrive at the winemaking facility and go into vats, where maceration and fermentation last three to four weeks, with each vat monitored daily. Once malolactic fermentation is complete, portions of the wine move into barrels, where it ages in the semi-darkness of the cellars and is racked every three to four months using the traditional candle method. Building the final blend is a deliberate process: more than 40 different wines are tasted in strictly controlled sessions, and the best batches, mostly aged initially in new French oak barrels, are set aside for the Grand Vin; three months later they are tasted again before the final blend is assembled. Barrel ageing for the Grand Vin runs 18 to 20 months; in the 2023 vintage, ageing used 70% new oak barrels and 30% barrels of one vintage, for 18 months. Since 2008 an underground barrel cellar beneath the château's ornamental reflecting pool has provided the estate with additional ageing space; the estate's own historical timeline dates the cellar's construction to 2006-2007 (see notes).

• Maceration and fermentation last three to four weeks, with daily monitoring of each vat
• Blending draws on tastings of more than 40 different wines before the final Grand Vin assemblage is set, roughly three months after the initial selection
• Grand Vin barrel ageing runs 18 to 20 months; the 2023 vintage used 70% new oak barrels, aged 18 months
• Wine is racked every three to four months using the traditional candle method
• Underground barrel cellar beneath the château's reflecting pool, in place since 2008

AXA Millésimes bought Pichon Baron in 1987 under the leadership of its then-chairman, Claude Bébéar, and entrusted management of the estate to Jean-Michel Cazes as General Manager. Christian Seely joined AXA Millésimes in 1993 and became Managing Director of both the group and Château Pichon Baron in 2001. Jean-René Matignon served as Technical Director of Château Pichon Baron and Château Pibran for 36 years before retiring in May 2022. He was succeeded by Pierre Montégut, who has been Technical Director of Château Suduiraut in Sauternes since 2004 and now oversees all three AXA Millésimes properties: Pichon Baron, Pibran and Suduiraut. Alexandra Lebossé joined the estate in 1999, became Assistant Technical Director and then Cellar Master in 2007, and was named Winemaker in 2017. Aymeric Hervy has been Vineyard Manager since 2017.

• AXA Millésimes bought the estate in 1987 under chairman Claude Bébéar; Jean-Michel Cazes was named General Manager
• Christian Seely, with AXA Millésimes since 1993, has been Managing Director of the group and of Château Pichon Baron since 2001
• Pierre Montégut became Technical Director in May 2022, succeeding Jean-René Matignon, who served 36 years in the role; Montégut has also been Technical Director of Château Suduiraut since 2004
• Alexandra Lebossé, with the estate since 1999, became Cellar Master in 2007 and Winemaker in 2017
• Aymeric Hervy has been Vineyard Manager since 2017

Pichon Baron's own vineyard produces four wines. The Grand Vin, Château Pichon Baron, is made from the oldest vines on the estate's finest plots. Les Tourelles de Pichon Baron, one of two second wines, is drawn chiefly from the Merlot-dominant Sainte-Anne plot; its first vintage was 1986, and it carried the name Les Tourelles de Longueville until it was renamed Les Tourelles de Pichon Baron as of the 2023 vintage. Les Griffons de Pichon Baron, the other second wine, is sourced from gravelly plots near the Gironde estuary well suited to Cabernet Sauvignon, and was first produced from the 2012 vintage. Since the 2022 vintage the estate has also produced a dry white, Les Griffons de Pichon Baron Grand Vin Blanc Sec, a 100% Sémillon wine from a 0.82-hectare plot in the Boua sector, on cool clay-limestone soil; its Sémillon vines were grafted using a massal selection from sister estate Château Suduiraut. The Pichon Baron team also makes two further Pauillac wines from related but separate vineyards: Château Pibran, from a hilltop estate northwest of Pauillac, and an appellation-level Pauillac cuvée produced since the 2019 vintage from young vines on the Tour Pibran and Pichon Baron vineyards.

• Grand Vin: Château Pichon Baron, from the oldest vines on the estate's finest plots
• Les Tourelles de Pichon Baron: first vintage 1986; renamed from Les Tourelles de Longueville as of the 2023 vintage; sourced chiefly from the Merlot-dominant Sainte-Anne plot
• Les Griffons de Pichon Baron: first vintage 2012, from gravelly plots near the Gironde estuary
• Les Griffons de Pichon Baron Grand Vin Blanc Sec: 100% Sémillon, produced since the 2022 vintage from a 0.82-hectare plot in the Boua sector, using Sémillon vines grafted from a Château Suduiraut massal selection
• Château Pibran and a Pauillac appellation cuvée (produced since 2019) are also vinified by the Pichon Baron team, from separate vineyards

Château Pichon Baron was ranked a Deuxième Cru (Second Growth) in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification drawn up for Napoleon III's Universal Exhibition, alongside its sister estate Pichon Comtesse. Writing for Decanter in August 2026, Rupert Millar described Pichon Baron as "one of the Médoc's quintessential châteaux," renowned for "the sleekness, polish and ageworthiness of its Cabernet Sauvignon-driven wines." Across the estate's most recently available vintages at the time of that review, Decanter's critics had averaged a score of 97 points for the wine.

• Classified a Deuxième Cru (Second Growth) in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification
• Decanter (August 2026): "one of the Médoc's quintessential châteaux"
• Decanter's Fine Wine Index reported a 97-point average score from Decanter critics across the estate's most recent available vintages

Château Pichon Baron is open for visits every day of the year, by appointment only. A standard tour begins in the vineyard, moves through the winemaking facilities and cellars, and concludes with a tasting of three wines, led by guides trained by the estate's technical team. Visitors can separately request a seated, commented tasting of the Grand Vin, led by a member of the estate's team. The estate is located at 33250 Pauillac, France, and can be reached at +33 5 56 73 17 17 or contact@pichonbaron.com.

• Open every day of the year; visits by appointment only
• Standard tour: vineyard, winemaking facilities and cellars, concluding with a tasting of three wines
• A separate seated, commented tasting of the Grand Vin can be requested
• Contact: +33 5 56 73 17 17 or contact@pichonbaron.com; 33250 Pauillac, France

Primary sources (producer's own site, fetched as raw page text via curl and tag-stripping, not a summarizing tool): https://www.pichonbaron.com/en/, .../heritage, .../terroir, .../our-wines, .../the-team, .../the-team/a-dedicated-team, .../the-team/care-of-the-vineyard, .../the-team/the-blending, .../the-team/the-winemaking-process, .../contact, .../vin/1/chateau-pichon-baron, .../vin/2/les-tourelles-de-pichon-baron, .../vin/3/les-griffons-de-pichon-baron, .../vin/4/les-griffons-de-pichon-baron-grand-vin-blanc-sec, .../vin/5/chateau-pibran, .../vin/6/pauillac, and the estate's historical-timeline PDF at .../f/fichier_attache/historical-timeline.pdf. Secondary sources: Decanter's official 1855 Bordeaux classification reference, Decanter's Fine Wine Index profile of Pichon Baron by Rupert Millar (published August 10, 2026), and a Decanter tasting-note listing page for the 2023 vintage. Last verified 2026-09-09. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs; see conflicts.json for four internal inconsistencies found between the estate's heritage/team pages and its own historical-timeline PDF.