1996 | Chateau Lynch-Bages | Pauillac

The blossoming bouquet delivers a combination of cassis, cigar smoke, a fine base of gravelly soil tones, French roast, toasty new oak and still a dollop of fresh herb tones in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with firm, well-integrated tannins, fine focus and grip and a long, promising finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The 1996 exhibits a dark plum/ruby/purple color that is just beginning to lighten at the edge, surprisingly velvety tannins and a classic Pauillac bouquet of lead pencil shavings, cedarwood, black currants, sweet cherries and spice box. This medium to full-bodied, elegant, savory, broad wine is still five years away from full maturity. It should continue to drink well for another 10-15 years.

• Decanter: Deep plum in colour, holding its Pauillac character perfectly at 25 years old, opening up to show cedar, pencil shavings, tobacco, graphite, cassis and touches of raspberry purée. This is very much in the drinking window, with waves of camphor, charcoal, woodsmoke and tobacco adding complexity and interest. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

Producer Information

Château Lynch-Bages is situated in the Pauillac commune of the Médoc region in Bordeaux. The grand vin, which is made predominantly from Cabernet Sauvignon, is known for its structure and intensity, and can age for 20 years or more. It ranks among the best in the appellation. The property in the village of Bages takes the other part of its name from Thomas Lynch, a Bordeaux merchant of Irish lineage who owned the property from 1749 to 1824. It was rated a fifth growth in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855, although the reputation of the property, now in the hands of the Cazes family, soared from 1945 after a string of excellent vintages. The vineyards are situated on a plateau west of Pauillac town on gravel, chalk and sand soils. There are 90 hectares (220 acres) of vineyards, 75 percent of which are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon. The rest is planted to Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a small amount of Petit Verdot. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats with extensive remontage (pumping-over) for concentration and color intensity. Lynch-Bages is aged for around 15 months in oak barrels, rougly two thirds of which are new. A notable feature of the estate is the old vat-house with its traditional slatted floors, ropes, pulleys and buckets, which give the advantages of gravity flow, a process incorporated into many modern winery designs. The estate makes a second wine, Echo de Lynch-Bages, which until 2008 was known as Château Haut-Bages Averous (the name taken from a former Pauillac estate owned by the family). The rare Blanc de Lynch-Bages, made since 1990, is an oak-fermented, lees-aged white Bordeaux blend from 6 ha (15 acres) of vines in eight different vineyard parcels to the west of the estate. It is sold as AOP Bordeaux. Owners of the Michel Lynch brand, other Bordeaux properties in the portfolio of Societe Jean-Michel Cazes include Cordeillan-Bages in Pauillac, Ormes de Pez in Saint-Estephe, Villa Bel-Air in the Graves. Elsewhere the family also owns estates in Minervois and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and (in partnership with Jorge Roquette of Quinta do Crasto) the Roquette & Cazes label in the Douro region of Portugal.

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