2018 Château Lynch Bages Pauillac 5th Classified Growth

About the Wine

"One of the finest vintages I've ever tasted from this address, the 2018 Château Lynch-Bages has everything you look for in a great wine: incredible aromatics, richness without weight, perfect balance, and a purity of fruit that's just about off the charts." ~Jeb Dunuck

Have you ever seen such unanimity? Some of the world’s most respected wine critics all agree the 2018 Lynch-Bages is a gem of a wine hitting its stride in 2023-2024. One of 18 Fifth Growth Grand Cru Classe wineries in Bordeaux, this wine always punches above its weight and over-delivers. Château Lynch Bages consistently outperforms its ranking, and it’s the highest-profile estate in its classification.

Owned by the Cazes family, this property always seems to be on the up and up. The family purchased the estate in 1939, ensuring this hundreds-of-years-old winery continues its prestigious work. The modern estate has 100 hectares of vines split into two parts, one near the château on the Bages plateau in the southern half of the Pauillac commune, not far from Château Latour, and the other near Château Mouton Rothschild. The soils are mainly gravel and sand, which allow for good drainage.

These soils, plus mastery in the cellar, never fail to create wines of great quality, and consumers clamor for that quality. When we offer futures of Château Lynch-Bages, we sell more of the powerhouse Poulliac than any other wine offered in futures. Bordeaux lovers and collectors know they can’t go wrong with Lynch-Bages, every single vintage of this wine is spectacular.

This wine is hitting its stride now and has at least another 10+ years on the upside as it develops in bottle. Don't miss it.

Aging: 75% new French oak for 18 months.

Tasting Notes: 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Full-bodied and rich with intense aromas of blackberry, mulberries, chocolate, and the tell-tale lead pencil of Cab Sauv. Big fruits, baking spices, and tobacco on the palate with ripe tannins and a minerally finish.

Reviews

One of the finest vintages I've ever tasted from this address, the 2018 Château Lynch-Bages has everything you look for in a great wine: incredible aromatics, richness without weight, perfect balance, and a purity of fruit that's just about off the charts. Dense purple, it reveals a glorious perfume of blackcurrants and blackberry fruits, a deep, unctuous mouthfeel, building tannin's, and a complex array of cedar pencil, tobacco, wood smoke, and chocolate. A true blockbuster in every sense, with masses of fruit and tannin's as well as moderate acidity, it will probably merit a triple-digit score in a decade and is a 50+-year wine from this team. ~98 Jeb Dunnuck

Sensational nose, profound and noble, cool, dark fruity, cassis and blackberry, plums, leather, tobacco, floral notes, a poem. Lots of pressure on the palate, a mouthful of wine, great structure, and crisp fruit, everything is in its place here, it will take time, but it will mature perfectly. a terrific Lynch Bages. 2030-2050. ~ 98 Adrian van Velsen - vvWine.ch

Vibrant, with a violet and cassis lead-in that then expands to include steeped black cherry and plum fruit as well as extra savory, iron, and licorice root notes. Nice latent grip too, with a mouthwatering tug of the earth at the very end. The fruit is so vibrant, it's a tease now, but there's structure here for the long haul, so be patient. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2040. ~97 Wine Spectator

Aromas of blackberries, cloves, licorice, dried leaves, graphite, and black olives. It’s full-bodied with firm, tight tannins. Structured and tannic with beautiful austerity and a long, mineral, and layered finish. The tannins grow on the palate. Try from 2026. ~97 James Suckling

The Lynch-Bages style is unmistakable in this wine's richness and the density of its structure and tannins. In addition, it conveys a great sense of style, restrained power, and opulence. Drink this wine from 2027. ~96 Wine Enthusiast

The nose is fruity, full of elegance, and offers power, intensity, a beautiful finesse of the grain as well as deepness. It reveals notes of black cherry, small ripe wild berries, and small notes of crushed raspberry associated with touches of crushed redcurrant, blackberry, a racy minerality (hot gravels/terroir), cardamom, licorice stick, tobacco, a hint of black pepper. The palate is fruity, and well-balanced, and offers a juicy/mineral frame, a good definition, gourmandize, tension, a beautiful finesse of the grain, fat as well as fine straightness, and a justly controlled power. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of pulpy wild cassis, small wild black fruits, and small notes of wild raspberry associated with touches of red cherry, tobacco, and camphor as well as hints of toasted/caramelized oak, vanilla pod, almond, and a very discreet hint of hazelnut. Tannins are well-built, delicate, fine, and very finely tight. Good length and persistence. ~96 VertdeVin

Dark ruby with purple reflections. Already approachable. The seductive bouquet has attractive cassis fruit, delicate mint, and licorice notes, pleasant fine oak, and hints of nougat. Juicy and tightly knit, with fresh cherries, ripe supporting tannins, good freshness, and blackberry confit on the finish. ~96 Falstaff

Composed of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2018 Lynch-Bages was aged in 75% new barriques. Deep garnet-purple in color, it soars out of the glass with a magnificently expressive nose of blueberry compote, black cherry preserves, and blackcurrant pastilles, plus suggestions of dark chocolate, licorice, tar, and violets with a waft of hoisin. The medium to full-bodied palate is just as impactful as the nose, coating the mouth with juicy blackberry and spicy layers, supported by firm, grainy tannins, and seamless freshness, finishing long with a refreshing earthiness coming through at the end. ~96 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Deep, rich black fruits on the nose followed by a powerful punch of spice alongside a ferocious tannic structure that will benefit from the extra polishing of bottle ageing. Combines tannic heft with cassis, bitter chocolate shavings, sage, cardamom and smoke. This is impressive, with a solidly confident, classic Pauillac character and a great example of the confidence of Lynch-Bages right now. Drinking Window 2028 - 2048. ~96 Decanter

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