Château Lynch Bages, 5ème Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2024
Lynch Bages’ ode to 2024 was “ain’t no mountain high enough”. Whatever challenges the growing season threw at them, they overcame those trials “thanks to their resilience and perseverance”. The result is superb, but alas it came at a price, this is the smallest crop since 1991. The 2024 Lynch opens with floral aromas of lavender and rose hip. A deep core of black fruit coats the palate, accompanied by generous notes of cherry and chocolate, alongside ground coffee, a touch of salt, and graphite. There’s admirable concentration here supported by a fine structure of tannins. Long, harmonious, and genteel – a very handsome wine that promises to evolve beautifully with time in the cellar.
critic reviews
Deep garnet-purple colored. Bounds out with exuberant notes of preserved plum and raspberry pie, followed by hints of potpourri, camphor, and damp soil with a touch of pencil shavings. The light to medium-bodied palate is lightly chewy with compelling freshness and spiced red and black berry flavors, finishing with good length.
The 2024 Lynch-Bages was cropped at just under 30 hl/ha and aged in 75% new oak for a planned 18 months. It has some initial reduction that is shaken off after several minutes. Very pure blackberry and blueberry fruit emerges with hints of melted tar and graphite, and iodine eventually lends more complexity. The palate is medium-bodied and quite focused with grippy tannins that are impressive for their fineness. The 2024 possesses palpable <em>mineralité</em> and a poised finish. Though this does not touch the skyscraping heights that have been achieved in recent years, it is a "capable" Lynch-Bages that might warrant two or three years in the cellar and drink well for up to 15 years or possibly longer.
Ruby with violet edging, opens to show chalk and slate tannins, giving a sense of restraint and grip, this is savoury and juicy with plenty of cassis fruits, delivers Pauillac consistency in an inconsistent vintage, and also it is just rather delicious. 75% new oak. 3.67 pH,
Cropped at 30 hectoliters per hectare (the lowest yield at this address since 1991), the 2024 Lynch-Bages is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc. Opening in the glass with aromas of minty berries and creamy new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, dense and heavily extracted, with firm, chalky tannins that assert themselves on the mouth-puckering finish. Lynch-Bages has historically performed well in challenging vintages, but the 2024 will demand considerable patience.