Lynch Bages - Pauillac 2019

Jeb DUNNUCK

100 / 100

byJeb Dunnuckthe4/12/2022

The 2019 Château Lynch-Bages is stunningly good, and it's going to be interesting to compare this to the 2018 over the coming decades. Based on 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, brought up in 75% new French oak, its dense purple hue is followed by an incredible bouquet of pure crème de cassis, freshly sharpened cedar pencil, spring flowers, smoke, and graphite, with an almost liqueur of rocks-like minerality. A massive, incredibly concentrated Lynch-Bages, Jean-Charles has hit a home run in the vintage, and this sensational wine has building, perfect tannins, insane purity, and a finish that won't quit. It has the purity, finesse, balance, and depth to offer pleasure not only today but to evolve for 40 to 50 years. Smart money will hide these for a good 7-8 years, but wow, what a wine. Bravo.

Wine Advocate

96 / 100

byWilliam Kelleythe4/7/2022

A true classic from this estate, the 2019 Lynch-Bages has turned out brilliantly, unwinding in the glass with aromas of cassis and sweet blackberry fruit mingled with licorice, mint, cigar wrapper and loamy soil. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, it's a deep, multidimensional wine built around a chassis of rich, powdery tannins and succulent balancing acids. The last vintage produced in Lynch-Bages old winery, it will be interesting to compare this benchmark wine with subsequent vintages over the coming years. 96+

Vinous

99 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe2/28/2022

The 2019 Lynch Bages is every bit as magnificent from bottle as it was from barrel, if not moreso. What a wine! Towering and vertical in its bearing, the 2019 is a total stunner. There is plenty of Lynch Bages charm, but what distinguishes the 2019 most is its spine of tannin and energy. Time in the glass brings out sweet red cherry, plum, blood orange and pomegranate and mint. The 2019 is a great, great, great Lynch Bages. It reminds me of the epic 1989, but with the youthful grip of this vintage. A towering Pauillac, the 2019 Lynch Bages will make a great addition to any cellar.

Vinous

99 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe2/24/2022

The 2019 Lynch Bages is every bit as magnificent from bottle as it was from barrel, if not moreso. What a wine! Towering and vertical in its bearing, the 2019 is a total stunner. There is plenty of Lynch Bages charm, but what distinguishes the 2019 most is its spine of tannin and energy. Time in the glass brings out sweet red cherry, plum, blood orange and pomegranate and mint. The 2019 is a great, great, great Lynch Bages. It reminds me of the epic 1989, but with the youthful grip of this vintage. A towering Pauillac, the 2019 Lynch Bages will make a great addition to any cellar.

Vinous

96 / 100

byNeal Martinthe2/17/2022

The 2019 Lynch-Bages is a Pauillac that needs more encouragement from the glass compared to its peers, eventually revealing blackberry, pencil box and cedar scents that could only come from this appellation. Wonderfully delineated, and it seems to finally respond to aeration and gain intensity. The palate is medium-bodied and grippy, with concentrated black fruit, a liberal pinch of black pepper and an extremely persistent, almost Lafite-like finish. Jean-Charles Cazes has overseen a great Lynch-Bages of the modern era.

Jamessuckling.com

97 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/2/2022

Wine Advocate

95-97 / 100

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe7/15/2020

Displaying a deep garnet-purple color, the 2019 Lynch-Bages needs a little coaxing to awaken its alluring scents of blackcurrant pastilles, warm black cherries, boysenberries and baker’s chocolate plus nuances of lilacs, forest floor, iron ore and charcoal with a spicy touch of cinnamon stick. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is jam-packed with ripe, rich black fruit layers, framed by firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and earthy. It is incredibly exciting how the personality of Lynch-Bages has been gaining focus and depth over the last 10-15 years, thanks in part to what appears to be efforts to sustain the mid-palate with just a tad more ripeness while taming and refining the tannins, allowing all these beautiful nuances among what wants to be a powerful fruit core to really shine through. This 2019 is an extraordinary expression and one that I suspect may well reveal even more layers by the time it’s bottled.

WeinWisser

19,5 / 20

the7/7/2020

Bettane & Desseauve

94-95 / 100

by Bettane & Desseauvethe7/3/2020

17-17,5

Vinous

96-98 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe6/18/2020

The 2019 Lynch Bages is stunning. Rich, ample and dramatic, the 2019 possesses tremendous richness and an intensity that builds all the way through to the finish. Inky red and purplish fruit, new leather, cedar and blueberry are all pushed forward here. Vibrant and expansive from the very first taste, with tremendous saline energy backing it all up, Lynch Bages is pure magic in 2019. Wow. Don't miss it!

Vinous

95-97 / 100

byNeal Martinthe6/16/2020

The 2019 Lynch-Bages is intense on the nose with layers of blackberry, bilberry, cedar, pencil shavings and light mint aromas defining it as a Pauillac. Very focused and I noticed it gaining delineation with aeration. The palate is very smooth and harmonious, the acidity perfectly pitched with a gentle but insistent grip. It reminds me of the superlative 2016 in some ways, effortless on the lightly spiced finish. This has huge potential. They should build a new winery to celebrate!

Jamessuckling.com

96-97 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe6/4/2020

A tight and very focused young red with redcurrant, tile and blackberry undertones. Lead pencil, too. It's full-bodied with very polished, creamy tannins and lots of intense dark fruit. Compact fruit and tannins. Structured.

Decanter.com

97 / 100

byJane Ansonthe6/4/2020

This takes hold from the first moment and powers along, delivering a ton of black brambly fruit, liquorice, grilled cedar and Pauillac confidence. The tannins are pretty chewy, really closing in on the end of play, giving no doubt that this is going to age slowly and for many decades, but there is a creaminess to the overall structure that is already evident. Drinking Window 2029 - 2046

The World of Fine Wines

94-96 / 100

byMichael Schusterthe5/13/2020

Dense and gravelly to smell—impressive; beautifully balanced, full, concentrated wine,
freshly defined, with a well-judged, firm tannic frame; deep and rich in blackcurrant-Cabernet fruit, clearly marked by gravel aromas, firmly but finely tannin-framed, long, mouthfilling, powerful yet completely without excess; complex, tenacious, complete, and very long and gravelly in aroma to finish. A wine of substance and class, classic finely muscular, long-term Pauillac. Great Lynch-Bages, the best of recent years. 2035–55+.