2014 Château Lynch-Bages, Pauillac, Bordeaux

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Rather rich and glamorous. Dense and velvety but not at all sweet. Dry minerally finish. Very Pauillac! Just as it should be.

Drink 2025 - 2045

Very well-expressed natural concentration of fruit, very ripe tannins and lots of complexity to come. A richly textured, firmly structured wine with the Lynch-Bages hallmarks for the future.

Drink 2020 - 2035

The blend is 69 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 26 % Merlot, 3 % Cabernet Franc and 2 % Petit Verdot.

The 2014 Lynch-Bages is just as powerful and dense from bottle as it was from barrel. Deep, powerful and bold, it possesses remarkable richness in all of its dimensions. Ripe red cherry, spice, leather, tobacco and rose petal all develop in the glass, but it is the wine's sheer amplitude today that is quite remarkable. It will need quite a bit of cellaring to be at its best, and is clearly built to age. This is a terrific showing from the Cazes family. 

Drink 2024 - 2044

The 2014 Lynch-Bages is full of promise, offering up a classic bouquet of rich but vibrant blackcurrant fruit mingled with hints of loamy soil, cedar and vanilla pod. Full-bodied, deep and layered, with an abundance of ripe but youthfully assertive tannin, lively acids and a long, resonant finish, it will hit its stride in 10 to 15 years. This is an excellent Lynch-Bages that represents especially good value in the contemporary marketplace.

Drink 2028 - 2068

Aromas of currants, blackberries and blackcurrants with hints of chocolate and spices. Full body, firm and silky tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Juicy and muscular wine. Needs three or four years to open. Beautiful.

70% new oak. Hold + 3 years or carafe 3 hours.

Inky plum in colour, you can see this is rich and textured even before going anywhere near the nose, which then displays ripe fruit. Gorgeous quality, a wine that is packed full of graphite, pencil lead, waves of violet, cassis, liqourice, and chewy but well defined tannins. Leaps out of the glass and is clear proof that, when it gets it right, the 2014 vintage equals the 2015 in this northern sector of the Médoc. Good value also compared to the 2015 and 2016 - a must buy for me.

Drink 2024 - 2044