Château Lynch-Bages 2020
• Domaine: Château Lynch Bages
• Appellation: Pauillac
• Classification: Fifth Growth, 5ème Grand Cru Classé
• Origin: Left Bank, Bordeaux, France
Château Lynch Bages is one of the most recognizable properties in Bordeaux. This is due to the tireless exploits of Jean-Michel Cazes, who was quite possibly one of the most active brand ambassadors of all time. This charming, charismatic man dedicated his entire life to a crusade promoting this excellent Fifth Growth Pauillac estate, ensuring everybody knew of the greatness of Château Lynch Bages. Jean-Michel Cazes even agreed to send a half bottle of Château Lynch Bages to the moon in 1985, making sure it was the first wine in outer space. Yet despite all of the fanfare and brilliant marketing, the truth about the grand vin of Château Lynch Bages is that the wine is excellent. At this property, the viticultural team doesn’t just talk the talk - they walk the walk.
Château Lynch Bages derives part of its name from the ancient village of Bages which was a commune for winemakers of many generations. In 1862, the property was sold to the Cayrou brothers who named it after Thomas Lynch, the patriarch of the original family that owned the estate. Château Lynch Bages was classified as a Fifth Growth in 1855, and less than a hundred years later was acquired by the legendary Jean-Michel Cazes. Jean-Michel Cazes was already very well respected in the Wine Trade due to his ownership of Les Ormes de Pez, a leading Cru Bourgeoise estate located in St-Estéphe. He bought Château Lynch Bages shortly before World War II and the property has stayed within the Cazes family ever since.
The vineyards were expanded to 100-hectares in the late 1990s and Jean Michel Cazes made sure everything was modernized at Château Lynch Bages. A new vat room was installed – though the old vat room is still available to visit to this day. In 2017, a massive renovation and modernization of the winery’s technical facilities took place. The project was headed by Chien Chung Pei and Li Chung Pei, sons of the famous architect, I.M. Pei, who designed the glass pyramid for the Louvre (Le Grand Louvre) in Paris. The wine cellar is now a 100% gravity flow facility, with impressive vat rooms that house 80 stainless steel vats in various sizes for parcel-by-parcel vinification. Château Lynch Bages is one of the most cutting-edge estates in terms of wine technology, using satellite imaging to survey the vineyard and conducting soil surveys to ensure the vines reach their full potential. Château Lynch Bages also produces a gorgeous white wine, Blanc de Lynch Bages, that is said to be one of the finest white wines in all of Graves.
The wines of Château Lynch Bages can be enjoyed young but continue to unfold beautifully with time. The vintages have continued to dazzle and impress with their deep color, tannic structure, controlled concentration and impressive sophistication. They are accessible and friendly, but also possess the dignity of the finest Pauillacs.
Tasting Notes
"A superb Lynch Bages that grabs you and carries you through the palate, slowly edging forward. Poised with a ton of slate and pencil lead on the finish, this is pure Pauillac, just so precise and full of character, so much grip, it's classic with a mouthwatering finish, feels profound but throroughly approachable. 75% new oak, 3.73ph. First vintage in new winery."- Jane Anson, (11/29/2022), Ratings: 98, Drink: 2029-2050
"The 2020 Château Lynch-Bages brings even more density and depth and is another vin de garde in the vintage. A blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, aged in 75% new barrels, this inky hued beauty boasts a ripe, powerful, full-bodied style that carries serious concentration as well as building, ripe, velvety tannins. While it doesn't have the elegance of the 2019, it brings beautiful cassis and blackberry fruit, lots of spice, graphite, and lead pencil aromatics, terrific balance, and a blockbuster finish. It's going to need at least a decade and will have 40-50 years of prime drinking." - Jeb Dunnuck, (03/30/2023), Ratings: 96
"The 2020 Lynch-Bages, the first vintage vinified at the new winery, has a beautifully-defined bouquet with a strong estuarine influence, brine and seaweed infusing the black fruit. It's almost understated at first, but it opens wonderfully in the glass - quintessentially Pauillac. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, quite concentrated that is counterbalanced by a fine bead of acidity. The saline note on the finish is superb, lingering in the mouth. What an absolutely delicious Lynch-Bages for the long-term." - Neal Martin, Vinous, (02/15/2023), Ratings: 96
The 2020 Lynch-Bages is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, aging for around 18 months in French oak barriques, 75% new. It has an alcohol of 13.41%, a pH of 3.73 and an IPT (tannin index) of 93. Opaque purple-black in color, it leaps from the glass with notes of crushed blackberries, cassis and boysenberries, plus touches of garrigue, red roses and cedar chest with hints of graphite and black olives. The medium-bodied palate has a rock-solid frame of ripe, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness supporting the tight-knit black fruit and earthy flavors, finishing long and mineral laced." -Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate (5/20/2021), Rating: 94-96, Drink: 2027-2050
"The vintage that inaugurated the estate's new state-of-the-art winery, the 2020 Lynch-Bages has turned out very nicely, offering up aromas of crème de cassis and blackberries mingled with notions of pencil shavings, spices and classy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with good concentration, ripe, powdery tannins and a seamless, integrated profile for such a young Lynch-Bages, it shows considerable promise. The blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot incorporates more Merlot than usual, reflecting relative yields in the vintage more than any stylistic shift." - William Kelley, The Wine Advocate, (04/06/2023), Ratings: 95+, Drink: 2030-2065
LWIN | 2109688 |
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Stock Status | In Stock |
Appellation | Pauillac |
Vintage | 2020 |
Brand | Chateau Lynch Bages |
Shipping Weight | 3.000000 |