Winemaker Notes
This vertical three-pack includes one bottle each of Château Lynch-Bages 1995, 2005 & 2015.
- 1 Bottle of 1995 Château Lynch-Bages
Daring, innovative and with a reputation for often being the last to harvest, Jean-Charles Cazes defined the style of Lynch Bages in the 1930's. The wine's distinctive character has earned it a place amongst Pauillac's greatest. It combines structure, finesse and elegance, offering generous aromas in its youth and developing deeper complexities with bottle age. - 1 Bottle of 2005 Château Lynch-Bages
The potential of the vintage was already clear, even before the first fermentations were finished. Lynch-Bages 2005 was aged in 80% new oak which is the most they had ever used, feeling it necessary to cloak the exceptional fruit and powerful tannins. - 1 Bottle of 2015 Château Lynch-Bages
Lynch-Bages 2015 has a brilliant, deep color with purple hues. Its nose clearly expresses aromas of cassis and dark fruit, mixed with the empyreumatic notes that come with ageing. It has a straightforward attack and a voluminous yet supple mid palate. The wine has a marked but silky tannic structure, and a persistent finish illustrative of a particularly ripe vintage.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
2005: A meaty and decadent Lynch with very ripe currant aromas on the nose. Full body, velvety-textured tannins and a powerful finish. It shows so much structure and fruit yet remains polished and focused.
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Vinous
2015: One of the finest Pauillacs of 2015, Lynch-Bages is rich, racy and voluptuous. A rush of dark red and purplish stone fruit, mint, new leather, spice and blood orange give the 2015 a very decidedly exotic character that is impossible to miss. Raspberry jam, mocha, new leather and expressive floral notes appear with time in the glass, rounding things out nicely. Even though the 2015 is quite forward and open at this stage, the wine has plenty of stuffing as well as the underlying structure to support many years of exceptional drinking. This is a stellar showing for Lynch-Bages. - Antonio Galloni
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Wine Enthusiast
2005: Classic Lynch-Bages with just a bit of extra power and richness. While the tannins are structured, it is the velvety fruit that rolls around the mouth that is the most dominant character. It is coming together into a wine that will be big and dense, but never over the top.
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Wine Enthusiast
2015: This vintage was ideal for the rich style that this estate has made its own. This wine is full bodied and ripe with black-currant and dark berry fruits. The tannins fall into the cushioned wine with ease and richness. Of course, the wine should be aged, so wait until 2026.
Cellar Selection -
Wine & Spirits
2005: There's a relaxed feel to this wine. Cazes's team can dress Lynch-Bages in the black-tie formality of a first growth, but the wine is still lovely-a touch of gaminess makes it friendly rather than ponderous. There's something ethereal about its tannins, like a chocolate truffle melting in the mouth. (Daniel Llose used 80 percent new oak for this vintage; the yields were short so there were more new barrels to go around, and at a tannic index of 82, the wine could handle it). Pure black cherry flavor saturates the wine with freshness; the complexity is intriguing and silken rather than aggressive. This should be readily accessible at ten to 20 years of age and should thrive for years after.
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Wine Spectator
2005: Textbook, with mouthfilling and slightly gutsy black currant, fig and blackberry fruit flavors bound together by singed cedar, iron and tobacco notes. Features a tug of loam followed by a second wave of fruit through the finish. This is just starting to stretch out. -- Blind '01/'03/'05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040.
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James Suckling
2015: Brambly and attractive ripe blackberries and red-plum aromas with some floral accents, too. The palate has a very plush, polished and regal shape as tannins frame up a core of ripe black fruit. Succulent, impressive finish.
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Decanter
2005: Almost forward but still young; spicy cassis lifts and lengthens its rich dark berry flavours. One of the best Lynch-Bages ever.
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Decanter
2015: Beguiling fragrance of cherries and blackcurrants on the nose. Some 2015s are starting to open up but this is still on the slightly shy side, it's supple and sleek, direct and still quite lean and focussed - yet showing supreme elegance. I love the purity and the clear minerality on show with a juicy acidity, it just feels as if it hasn't yet hit its stride and I get the sense that the best is still to come. One to watch.
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Jeb Dunnuck
2015: The inky colored 2015 Château Lynch-Bages is a seriously impressive Pauillac that’s up with the crème de la crème of the appellation in 2015. Notes of ripe blackcurrants, caramelized cherries, tobacco leaf and a kiss of lead pencil all emerge from this textbook Pauillac that has medium to full-bodied richness, notable concentration, and building structure. Made from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that saw 75% new barrels, it needs 5-7 years of cellaring and will be one of the longer-lived wines from the Médoc.
Rating: 94+ -
Wine Spectator
1995: A wine that continues to improve with age. Shows loads of ripe plum, almost prune, with hints of vanilla and mineral. Full, chewy and tight.
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Wine Spectator
2015: This has an ample core of plum, fig and blackberry compote flavors, underlined liberally with graphite and smoldering tobacco notes. Fleshy and focused, with ample grip through the juniper- and tar-accented finish. Well-built. Best from 2023 through 2038.
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Jeb Dunnuck
2005: The 2005 Château Lynch-Bages is terrific, with a ripe, yet also surprisingly elegant profile in its medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, graphite, and leather. A blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, it has ripe, nicely integrated tannins, good balance, and is already surprisingly accessible.
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Vinous
2005: (72% cabernet sauvignon, 15% merlot, 12% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot; 3.67 pH; 70 IPT; 13.4% alcohol): Deep ruby. Delicate aromas of blackcurrant, mocha and graphite are lifted by minerals and violet. Enters pure, dense and round, then shows lively, precise flavors of black fruits, dried nuts, ink and minerals. This has greater volume and flesh than the 2006, along with a brooding, sneaky concentration and a very long, supple finish. The best Lynch-Bages in years, this should prove to be a great wine in time, and a huge success for this estate.
Rating: 93+ -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2015: Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Lynch Bages offers up crushed black berries, black cherries and dried herbs with an earthy undercurrent. The medium-bodied palate is firm and taut with lively fruit and a chewy finish.
Rating: 92+
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.