Château Lynch Bages, 5ème Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2019
The Fiche technique from Lynch Bages was titled 'Earth, Wind & Fire' - nothing to do with the 1970s at all as it turns out. In fact, this is a very 21st century wine. The team here has worked meticulously to produce a very smart Lynch Bages. The yields are the smallest seen since 1991 at 31hl/ha. Produced from 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. There is a lovely perfumed bouquet of violets, griotte liqueur and cassis. There is admirable texture and depth, with waves of charming, sweet, glossy black fruit. This is verging on decadent - certainly for the vintage. It is big and velvety with a floral finish; lovely precision and detail. Sexy yet strict and firm. Another really fine effort from this venerable Pauillac estate.
critic reviews
The 2019 Lynch-Bages is composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it gallops out with bold notions of warm cassis, stewed black cherries, and boysenberry preserves, followed by hints of tar, violets, and star anise. The medium to full-bodied palate is intense and nuanced with firm, grainy tannins and great tension, finishing long and layered. Classic great Pauillac.
The 2019 Lynch-Bages has an outgoing bouquet, the new oak not as well integrated as its peers at the moment, more inchoate by comparison. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, quite saline with black pepper, controlled and focused towards the classy finish. It oozes sophistication and feels extraordinarily long. Wondrous. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.
A true classic from this estate, the 2019 Lynch-Bages has turned out brilliantly, unwinding in the glass with aromas of cassis and sweet blackberry fruit mingled with licorice, mint, cigar wrapper and loamy soil. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, it's a deep, multidimensional wine built around a chassis of rich, powdery tannins and succulent balancing acids. The last vintage produced in Lynch-Bages old winery, it will be interesting to compare this benchmark wine with subsequent vintages over the coming years.
Tight black fruits, run through with espresso, cocoa bean and bitter black chocolate shavings. Brilliant quality, with tannic heft and precision. Takes a jump halfway through the palate and lifts right off. I have tasted this several times over the past few months, and it consistently performs. 75% new oak, Eric Boissenot consults.