Echo de Lynch Bages, Pauillac, 2022
Echo feels more vibrant and energetic (than Haut Batailley) with plenty of purple fruit, cooling plums, mixed with fennel, heather and dried herbs. There's lots of potential here and definition, but it will need some time to resolve and find harmony. Not in the top echelon of second wines this year, but a very solid performance. 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc.
critic reviews
The 2022 Echo de Lynch-Bages has a strict and backward nose, graphite and flint infuse the black fruit here, almost clinical in style. The palate is medium-bodied with a little chewiness on the entry. Quite firm and bold tannins, though the finish feels compact at the moment. Give it a couple of years. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.
A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc, the 2022 Echo de Lynch-Bages is deep garnet-purple in color. It tumbles from the glass with open-knit scents of plum preserves, mince pie, and Indian spices, with hints of menthol, rose oil, and dusty soil. The medium-bodied palate delivers a firm, chewy texture and oodles of freshness to support the baked berries and exotic spice layers, finishing long. pH 3.69, TPI 91.
A serious Echo that gives a good entry into the main wine. There are a ton of tannins here, and it has the inky, slate, crushed rock character of Pauillac. Carefully-extracted cassis and bilberry fruit, this is measured, one to look out for, needs a few years to relax. 3.69ph, 10% new oak.
Revealing aromas of cassis, licorice, pipe tobacco and loamy soil, the 2022 Echo de Lynch-Bages is medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with a deep core of fruit and plenty of chewy tannin. It shares much of the style of the grand vin this year, and it's one second wine that will reward a bit of patience.