2009 Lynch Bages
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Tasting notes
76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Aged for 15 months in oak barrels (70% new). Big, deep, black colour. Reserved but generous nose that shows considerable depth. Svelte attack, the tannins powerful but refined and enrobed in succulent fruit. Seductive now but still very much a baby. A complete wine with huge potential. (JL)
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Decanter
More reviews and scores
Density, power, concentration, this is a full on Pauillac, with a ton of cassis and blueberry, liquorice, espresso, cocoa bean, with an intense muscular tannic frame. Precise architecture, it delivers on the promise that has been building for several years - muscular, ripped, will power for decades. 70% new oak.
In the running for the greatest vintage ever from this château, the 2009 Château Lynch-Bages is pure Pauillac magic, offering a powerful bouquet of blackcurrants, freshly sharpened pencils, smoked tobacco, and gravelly earth. It's full-bodied, has a concentrated, structured mouthfeel, building yet beautifully integrated tannins, and a great, great finish. It's just now at the early stages of its prime drinking window and has another 30 years of prime drinking ahead of it. I wish I'd bought more on release.
Slightly vegetal nose. Very smooth with tannins evident only on the very end of the palate. Just a tad stodgy with a menthol note. Not that persistent. (JR)
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.