Lynch Bages - Pauillac 2017

Vinous

93

byNeal Martinthe8/2/2023

The 2017 Lynch-Bages has a pure bouquet with ebullient black cherry and blueberry fruit. The oak is neatly integrated, precise and controlled. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit. It's pretty dense with graphite-infused black fruit. This clams up towards a finish that is a little more austere than other recent vintages, although I admire its focus and structure. Great potential. Tasted at the Lynch-Bages vertical at the château.

Wine Advocate

94

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe3/17/2020

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Lynch Bages sashays out of the glass with flamboyant scents of baked blackcurrants, blackberry preserves and mulberries plus touches of lavender, dark chocolate, star anise and unsmoked cigars. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has bags of class and finesse with firm, finely-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and fragrant. Drinking Window : 2022 - 2045

Vinous

94

byAntonio Gallonithe3/11/2020

The 2017 Lynch-Bages is such a pretty and engaging wine; as always, it is a wine of pure and total seduction. Lush, open-knit and very pretty with ripe red and purplish fruit. There is a slight bit of edginess in the tannin that needs to be resolved, but cellaring should take care of that.

Jeb DUNNUCK

95

byJeb Dunnuckthe2/26/2020

A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, brought up in 75% new French oak, the 2017 Chateau Lynch-Bages sports an inky color as well as a powerful, full-bodied style. Rocking blackcurrants, chocolate, smoked tobacco, and obvious minerality all emerge from this beautiful, concentrated wine that has building tannins, the more elegant, silky style of the vintage, a great mid-palate, and a blockbuster finish. It's going to hit the ground running in about 5-7 years and cruise 20 years or more in cool cellars.

Wine Spectator

94

byJames Molesworththe2/7/2020

This leans toward the austere side of Pauillac, with a slightly bracing iron and chalk frame around a core of red and black currant fruit, liberally laced with savory and cedar notes. Exhibits ample length and cut, showing really pure and beautifully defined currant flavors. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2040. — JM

Jamessuckling.com

95

byJames Sucklingthe1/13/2020

This is a focused and tight Lynch with beautiful blackcurrants, slate, graphite and lead pencil. Medium to full body. Very fine tannins and brightness. Linear line of tannins that runs nicely through the wine. A blend of 70% cabernet sauvignon, 24% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot.

Wine Advocate

91-93

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe3/29/2019

The 2017 Lynch Bages is a barrel sample blended of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Very deep purple-black in color, it leaps from the glass with energetic crushed black cherries, black plums and blackcurrants scents plus underlying notions of baking spices, underbrush, unsmoked cigars and fragrant earth. Medium-bodied, the palate offers a well-sustained mid-palate and firm frame of grainy tannins with loads of freshness and minerality on the long finish.

Le Point

18

byJacques Dupontthe6/20/2018

ruits noirs, nez racé, élégant, profond, de la chair, équilibre, texture dense, charnue, tanins très fins, veloutés, élégant, très persistant, raffiné.

Jeb DUNNUCK

92-94

byJeb Dunnuckthe6/12/2018

The 2017 Lynch Bages is beautifully done and has an upfront, charming, yet concentrated style. Crème de cassis, graphite, crushed rocks, and plenty of spice characteristics give way to a medium to full-bodied Pauillac that has beautifully ripe tannin, solid mid-palate depth, and notable purity of fruit. It’s not massive but just sings for its purity, balance, and expansive texture.

WeinWisser

18,5

byRené Gabrielthe5/31/2018

70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Tiefes Purpurgra-nat mit schwarzer Mitte und violettem Rand. Ein Konzentrat aus Wildkirsche, schwarzer Olive, reifer Heidelbeere und betbrenden Veilchen. lm zweiten Ansatz Cassis und dunkle EdelhOlzer. Am mus-kulbsen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur und krâftigem, reifem Tannin-Paket ausge-stattet. lm sehr langanhaltenden Finale mit einem Feuerwerk von Schattenmo-rellen und schwarzen Johannisbeerpas-Grandioser Pauillac mit sehr Bro­sser Fangemeinde, auf dem Weg zuhb-heren Note!                
18.5/20 2030 — 2045

Vinifera

94

byJacques Perrinthe5/28/2018

Mûr et confit, avec une vraie profondeur aromatique. Les tanins ont été extraits avec doigté et laissent place à une bouche élégante et fine, qui possède du ressort. On perd en opulence ce que l’on gagne en finesse, souplesse et dynamisme. Très bon.

Vinous

92-95

byAntonio Gallonithe5/15/2018

The 2017 Lynch-Bages is a wine of impeccable balance and class. Deep, fleshy and inviting, the 2017 should be ready to deliver pleasure with minimal cellaring. All of the Lynch-Bages signatures come through in a very pretty, deceptively medium-bodied wine loaded with personality. Lynch-Bages is never a huge wine, but like most of his colleagues, proprietor Jean-Michel Cazes opted for especially delicate extractions.

The Wine Cellar Insider

94-96

byJeff Levethe5/11/2018

Dark in color, the wine jumps with fresh, cassis aromatics tinged by tobacco, earth, smoke and a touch of vanilla. Crunchy, crisp and showing sweetness and peppery tannins, this full bodied, concentrated wine will need at least a decade before it hits it hits its stride. This is a very strong vintage for Lynch Bages and could become much better as it softens and develops. Produced from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, reaching 13.2% alcohol with a pH of 3.72. The Grand Vin was made from 65% of the harvest.

Vinous

91-93

byNeal Martinthe5/1/2018

The 2017 Lynch Bages was picked from 18 September with the young Merlot vines and finishing on 30 September. It was cropped at around 50hl/ha. It is aged in 75% new oak for 18 months. It offers good intensity on the nose, not as precise or as mineral-driven as the 2016 last year, with cedar and pencil shaving infusing the black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, very refined, a touch of white pepper and cedar with impressive depth on the finish. This will be an approachable Lynch Bages, probably pre-destined to be overshadowed by the magnificent (if nascent) 2016 but it will certainly give 20 to 25 years of drinking pleasure. Tasted four times with consistent notes.

Decanter.com

95

byJane Ansonthe4/25/2018

They've had their foot on the extraction pedal here, but the extremely dark fruit has great finesse. It is broad-shouldered and savoury-edged, and each time I tasted this wine it seemed a little richer and more complete, over-delivering for the year. This is going to age extremely well. 2% Petit Verdot makes up the blend. 75% new oak.

Drinking Window 2025 - 2038

Jean-Marc QUARIN

17

byJean-Marc Quarinthe4/17/2018

Wine Enthusiast

94-96

byRoger Vossthe4/17/2018

This dense wine is setting out to be fine and rich. It has power and density along with ripe blackberry flavors. Its concentration and dark tannins suggest a long life ahead. Drink from 2024.

Jamessuckling.com

95-96

byJames Sucklingthe4/6/2018

This is an excellent Lynch that starts off slowly and then drives at the end with dark fruit and hints of hazelnuts. Strong and focused tannins. A beautiful young wine.

Wine Spectator

92-95

byJames Molesworththe4/4/2018

There’s really good flesh here for the vintage, with cassis, plum and blackberry compote flavors that are a step ahead of the pack in concentration. Light charcoal and iron notes score the finish, which is racy and fresh. Textbook Pauillac.—J.M.