CHÂTEAU PIBRAN
2018 Cru Bourgeois Pauillac
54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot with 18 months in wood, 50% new. There's lovely crunch to the fresh black fruit in this excellent Pibran. It's not shy either, there is plenty of well-judged tannin to get your teeth into. This should give a great deal of pleasure after five or more years in the cellar. A beautifully made Pibran by the team at Pichon Baron. Drinking range: 2024 - 2035L&S (Apr 2019)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2018 Pibran is matured for 18 months in 50% new oak. It maintains the mixture of black and blue fruit on the nose, vivacious and generous, with floral and lavender scents that emerge with time. The palate is very smooth and harmonious, offering plenty of graphite-infused black fruit and a precise finish. The headiness on display from barrel is now tempered with plenty of freshness. A lovely Pibran. Drinking range: 2022 - 2036 Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2021)
The 2018 Pibran is fabulous, just as it was en primeur. Juicy, rich and expansive in this vintage, Pibran offers terrific richness and verve. Dark cherry, spice, new leather and cedar build as this stylish Pauillac shows off its considerable charms. The 2018 is unquestionably extroverted. It is also shamelessly delicious. Drinking range: 2023 - 2033 Rating: 93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Mar 2021)
Blackcurrant, blueberry, pencil-lead, clove and walnut-husk aromas. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, tight-grained tannins. Nice minerality. Try from 2024 and onwards. Rating: 93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2021)
Coming from a cooler terroir of gravel, clay, and even a touch of limestone soils, the 2018 Château Pibran is a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon and 46% Merlot brought up in 50% new French oak. Beautiful cassis, graphite and violet notes all emerge from this beauty, which has medium to full-bodied richness, a vibrant, clean, balanced texture, terrific richness, and a great finish. Rating: 92-94 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2019)
The 2018 Pibran is a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon and 46% Merlot, to be aged 18 months in barriques, 50% new and 50% one year old. Very deep purple-black in color, it opens with notes of wild blueberries, fresh black cherries and blackcurrants plus touches of fallen leaves, chargrill and hoisin with a waft of Indian spices. Full-bodied with a solid backing of grainy tannins, it has a voluptuous mid-palate and long, spicy finish. Rating: 89-91 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2019)
Black core, purple rim. Intense, ripe cassis, direct fruit, with a nice little touch of lead pencils. Even a note of mint. Dry, cool tannic finesse. A cool customer, more limestone in the soil giving a chalky finish, suggests MD Christian Seely. Dark and elegant. Just enough freshness thanks to the tannins. Dark-chocolate mouth-cleaning finish. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 16.5 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2019)
This is a cool and dense Pibran with blueberries and blackcurrants and freshness at the same time. Full body, dusty tannins and a flavorful finish. Solid. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2019)
This wine shows more and more class in recent vintages, and the 2018 continues this trend. The blend is 54% Cabernet Sauvignon and 46% Merlot, picked at a yield of 35 hl/ha, slightly lower than usual, due in part to mildew. The alcohol is 13.9%, while the pH is 3.91. It presents a classic Pauillac nose, filled with dusty cherry and blackcurrant, refined and tight, with a little pencil shaving and gravel nuance. A lovely poise and substance on the palate, with a fresh and refined tannic grip, along with bright acidity. A style which is poised, classic, and clearly set on giving the cru classé estates a run for their money. Delicious, cool, minerally and charming, but with the tightly knit tannin of the vintage, and a fresh balance, this is one of the best examples of Pibran I can recall tasting. The élevage will be in 50% new oak and 50% second-fill oak for 18 months. Rating: 92-94 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2019)
Château Pibran
Château Pibran, now under the guidance Christian Seely and the AXA-Millesimes team, produces with good complexity, weight and concentration. Its 9.5 hectares of vineyards stretch across a well-drained gravel bank and border those of Mouton-Rothschild, Lynch-Bages and Pontet Canet. They are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (25%), Cabernet Franc (10%) and Petit Verdot (5%). The wines are vinified at Pichon-Baron. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks and the wine is matured for 12-15 months in barriques (50% new). Pibran is classified as a cru bourgeois but is now producing wines the equal of many of its more highly classified neighbours.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2023 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.