Stephen Brook: Very deep red. Rich, sumptuous blackcurrant and black cherry nose, sleek oakiness giving it refinement. Medium-bodied but concentrated, with firm ripe tannins. Has enough lift and acidity to carry the fruit through the palate. Light chocolaty tone betrays the great ripeness, but there is elegance all the same. It does lack some persistence, but this has complexity and elegance and should keep well for the medium term. Quite good length. 17.5

Stephen Browett: Deep color, eucalyptus nose. On the nose this is wonderfully polished and smooth with creamy oak flavors. Supple and really attractive with flavors of exotic Asian spices and toast. One senses that there is hidden power behind the sexy façade, but essentially this is a wine that is built for pleasure. A lovely Pichon in the traditional style of this Château. 16.5

Michael Schuster: Touch of herbaceousness to smell, alongside a clear ripe fruit as well; fairly full bodied, with a noticeably fine textured tannin—still very present, but not coarse. Ripe, oak-tinged fruit, complex and aromatic and well sustained, all the while within the tough 2003 texture. Class there, but not helped by the year’s tannin character. A fairly forceful Comtesse! Medium to long-term, but unlikely to be the fleshy, refreshing, graceful claret that this so often is. From 2015. 16.5