Château Lynch Bages, 5ème Cru Classé, Pauillac,

I tasted the 1985 Lynch-Bages on two occasions. Firstly, at the property, I am perplexed by its loose-knit nose and disjointed palate. I put a question mark against my score because a dozen-plus encounters over the years were far superior. A second bottle at a private dinner in London reinstates my adoration for this forerunner for the dazzling successes at the end of the decade. Melted tar, wild mint and pure black fruit blossom on the nose and, like previous bottles, seem to gain intensity and delineation with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with refined, pliant tannins that frame truffle-infused black fruit. It is paradigmatic of the vintage, so elegant and sensual instead of tannic, a little savory towards its caressing vintage. What's not to love?