Château Pichon Longueville Baron 1975…
Château Pichon Baron – or Château Pichon Longueville Baron, or Château Longueville au Baron de Pichon-Longueville, if you prefer – was established by Pierre Rauzan (c.1620-1692), one-time owner of Châteaux Margaux and Latour.
Land surrounding Latour was turned into an estate that became known as L’Enclos Rauzan and which formed the basis of Pichon-Longueville.
As if in a Balzac novel – albeit one with a relatively happy ending – the Baron Joseph de Pichon-Longueville (1760-1849), great-grandson of Pierre Rauzan, decided to share the domain between his five children.
It took Baron Joseph 70 years, during which he saw France undergo three revolutions, five kings, two republics and one empire, to create Pichon-Longueville. To divide the estate into two separate entities took only six years.
Raoul gained the part destined for the two sons (the younger son Louis had died in 1835), which became Pichon-Baron; the rest went to the three daughters Virginie, Gabrielle and Sophie and became Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande – or Pichon Lalande or Pichon Comtesse…
The 1975 Bordeaux vintage produced very tannic red wines that have sometimes lasted well – like Château Pichon Longueville Baron 1975.
