Chateau Lynch-Bages Echo de 2018
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James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Like its big brother, Echo de Lynch-Bages displays the characteristic taste, aromas and length of Pauillac wines. As an echo of the first wine, it receives the same care and attention from the vine to the cellars. It is the result of a selection of Lynch-Bages' youngest vines and specific plots which represent between 25 to 40 % of the harvest depending on the vintage. Echo de Lynch-Bages is round, soft and seductive in its youth with outstanding potential for bottle age.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Very layered and dense second wine of Lynch this year. Medium to full body, juicy fruit and polished and chewy tannins. Will need time.
Barrel Sample: 93-94 -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Echo De Lynch-Bages checks in as a mix of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc that was brought up all in once-used French oak. It has a grand vin tech-sheet with 13.9% alcohol. Deep purple-hued, with a great nose of blackcurrants, scorched earth, lead pencil shavings, tobacco, and dark chocolate, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, layered monster of a mid-palate, and silky tannin's. It's stunning juice all the way, and given its wealth of material and texture, it's drinkable today, yet smart money will hide bottles for 5-7 years, and it's going to evolve for 20 years or more. It's an incredible second wine.
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Wine Spectator
The dark plum and cassis fruit is focused and fresh, lined with subtle tobacco and incense hints. Light dusty and sanguine accents emerge on finish.
Barrel Sample:89-92 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Composed of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc and without any new oak, the very deep purple-black colored 2018 Echo de Lynch Bages rolls seductively out of the glass with fragrant notes of candied violets, rose hip tea and fragrant soil over a core of crushed blackberries, warm blackcurrants and kirsch plus wafts of chocolate mint and crushed rocks. Full, rich, wonderfully concentrated and well structured, it has a solid backbone of firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long.
Barrel Sample: 90-92+ -
Decanter
This has plenty of tannin but the fruit is being held pretty sharply in place at this early stage. The muscular nature of the tannins gives a slightly rustic edge to the flavours, along with autumnal berry and concentrated dried fruits. There is juice running in between but the tannins close pretty sharply on the finish.. Drinking Window 2023 - 2036
Other Vintages
2022-
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
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James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
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Wine
Spectator
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator
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James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator - Decanter
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Robert
Parker
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James
Suckling - Decanter
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
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James
Suckling
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Wine
Spectator
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Wine
Spectator
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
The grapes are all hand picked and then carefully sorted before crushing. A very strict selection is made prior to blending and the wine is traditionally aged in oak barrels before bottling.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
The leader on the Left Bank in number of first growth classified producers within its boundaries, Pauillac has more than any of the other appellations, at three of the five. Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild border St. Estephe on its northern end and Chateau Latour is at Pauillac’s southern end, bordering St. Julien.
While the first growths are certainly some of the better producers of the Left Bank, today they often compete with some of the “lower ranked” producers (second, third, fourth, fifth growth) in quality and value. The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification that goes back to 1855. The finest chateaux in that year were judged on the basis of reputation and trading price; changes in rank since then have been miniscule at best. Today producers such as Chateau Pontet-Canet, Chateau Grand Puy-Lacoste, Chateau Lynch-Bages, among others (all fifth growth) offer some of the most outstanding wines in all of Bordeaux.
Defining characteristics of fine wines from Pauillac (i.e. Cabernet-based Bordeaux Blends) include inky and juicy blackcurrant, cedar or cigar box and plush or chalky tannins.
Layers of gravel in the Pauillac region are key to its wines’ character and quality. The layers offer excellent drainage in the relatively flat topography of the region allowing water to run off into “jalles” or streams, which subsequently flow off into the Gironde.