2018 Lynch Bages
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Tasting notes
72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Aged for 18 months in oak barrels (75% new). Deep purple-black hue. Big, powerful and brooding. Riper style with an almost raisined edge to the fruit but freshness as well so there’s balance. Substantial weight of fruit on the palate with big, punchy tannins. Muscular and assertive but clear potential. (JL)
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Plum, damson, with a touch of gunsmoke reduction on the first nose, rich and nuanced in colour and aromatics. Pure chiselled cassis and blackberry fruits as it opens, with cocia bean, sage, cardarmon, grilled cedar, smoked earth and crayon, widening through the mid palate to reveal a creamy texture. Exuberant in character, plenty of vintage signature. A yield of 38hl/ha, 75% new oak.
Tasted blind. Particularly dark crimson. Discreet, fresh nose. Good, straightforward ripe, minty fruit with about the right amount of tannin underneath. Dry finish. Long. This was extremely popular with the group as well as with me – although I learnt subsequently that it was made in temporary premises while the new winery was being built, ready for the 2020 vintage. (JR)
The beauty of Lynch Bages is fully on display here, with powerfully concentrated black fruits, confident tannins and a gourmet, mouthwatering assault of bitter chocolate shavings, sage, cardamom and cigar box. Ferocious tannins that will benefit from extra polishing of bottle ageing. A yield of 38hl/ha.
About the producer
Ch. Lynch-Bages is one of the largest and best properties in Pauillac, in the Médoc. While officially classified as a Fifth Growth estate, it regularly competes with the First and Second Growths when it comes to quality and ageability.