Deliciously ripe and balanced with attractive, earthy nuances, surrounding ripe-plum and red-berry aromas and flavors. Sheet-like tannins layer up neatly and build a long, esteemed finish. Second wine of Pichon Baron. Try from 2023.

The 2016 Les Tourelles de Longueville is a very beautiful wine. Pliant, supple and inviting, the 2016 has so much to recommend it. Dark red cherry, red plum, tobacco, menthol and licorice are all laced together in this creamy, wonderfully expressive, silky Pauillac. The Tourelles will be impossible to resist young, and should drink well for another 10-15 years, maybe more.

The 2016 Les Tourelles de Longueville has a much more introspective bouquet compared to the Echo de Lynch Bages: earthy with plenty of autumn leaves and cedar percolating through the black fruit as the wine opens up. The palate is medium-bodied with light tannins, and a little sharp for a 2016, conveying noticeable acidity. It feels a little hard and austere compared to some of its peers, though I suspect it may simply be entering a sullen phase. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. 2022 - 2035

The 2016 Les Tourelles de Longueville is a blend of 58% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot (from young vines that are destined to go into the Grand Vin one day, according to Christian Seely), matured in 30% new oak for 12 months. It offers a mixture of red and black fruit on the nose, just a touch of melted tar with fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with quite a powerful opening, dense black fruit tinged with graphite, a solid Deuxième Vin with a slightly aloof finish (at least at the moment). There is a pleasant graphite note lingering long on the aftertaste that completes a fine Pauillac to enjoy over the next 12-15 years.

The density and beauty to this second wine are superb with a rich palate and round and velvety tannins. Lots of blackberries and blackcurrants. Wow.