Lynch Bages - Pauillac 2021

matthewjukes.com

18,5 / 20

byMatthew Jukesthe8/2/2022

This is an astonishing wine given it shows ostentatious, richly-layered Cabernet fruit, and yet it only registers 13.1% alcohol. It feels more like a 14.5%, such is the succulent texture and lusty depth of fruit. In addition, there is plushness balanced by invigorating spiciness, and the overall experience is indulgent and downright delicious. Somewhat of an anomaly in a vintage of rather tender and ethereal wines, it is to be congratulated on maintaining its identity despite Mother Nature’s challenges. 18.5+

Jamessuckling.com

96-97 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe6/8/2022

This is really cool to smell, with lead pencil shavings, iron filings and oyster shells. Blackcurrants, too. Full to medium body with layers of firm tannins, but a dusty and powdery texture, too. Lovely finish. 67% cabernet sauvignon, 25% merlot, 5% petit verdot and 3% cabernet franc.

Jeb DUNNUCK

94-96 / 100

byJeb Dunnuckthe6/2/2022

The Grand Vin 2021 Château Lynch-Bages ratchets up everything, offering a rich, powerful, almost full-bodied style as well as gorgeous notes of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, spice, and hints of cassis. It might be the biggest, richest wine in the vintage and has a great mid-palate, impressive density, building tannins, and a great, great finish. 94-96+

Bettane & Desseauve

93-94 / 100

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/24/2022

Très forte couleur et précision aromatique remarquable. Corps imposant, texture magistralement veloutée qui associe le registre floral et les notes de fruits noirs, avec une intensité gourmande rare dans l’appellation dans le millésime. 67 % cabernet-sauvignon, 25 % merlot, 5 % petit verdot, 3 % cabernet franc. Et un taux record de polyphénols (90 d’IPT).

The Vintage Journal

93-94 / 100

byAndrew Caillard MWthe5/17/2022

Deep crimson. Intense blackcurrant elderberry aromas with hint praline dark cherry notes. Lovely chocolaty wine with plentiful cassis, cedar roasted chestnut notes, fine powdery touch soupy tannins and underlying cedar notes. Very good density. 67% cabernet sauvignon, 25% merlot, 3% cabernet franc, 5% petit verdot.

The Wine Cellar Insider

92-94 / 100

byJeff Levethe5/16/2022

Deep and dark in color, the wine is packed with crème de cassis, tobacco leaf, currants, cigar box and forest floor. On the palate, the wine is fresh, bright, chewy and crisp, with firm tannins. Classic in style, with an energetic, bright, savory-tinted finish, give it some time in the cellar before opening a bottle. The wine blends 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc, 13.14% ABV. The yields were low at 34 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2027-2050. 92-94

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

94 / 100

byJane Ansonthe5/13/2022

Vinous

94-96 / 100

byNeal Martinthe5/12/2022

The 2021 Lynch-Bages, picked at 34hL/ha and matured in 75% new oak for a planned 18 months, has an outstanding bouquet, beautifully-defined and sensual, a mixture of black and blueberry fruit, very fragrant. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins, good body and density, quite precise with a tensile finish. This fans out nicely on the finish. A very classy Lynch Bages with echoes of Jean-Michel Cazes' classics from the late eighties. 13.14% alcohol.

Vinous

92-94 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe5/11/2022

The 2021 Lynch Bages is a brooding wine. Black cherry, leather, spice and menthol add to its decidedly somber personality. It will be interesting to see how the 2021 develops during élevage. Today, the 2021 comes across as dark and heavy, with the oak not fully integrated, and less of the suave finesse that is perhaps the key Lynch Bages signature.

vvwine

95-97 / 100

byAdrian Van Velsenthe5/10/2022

Kräftige Farbe. Expressive, fruchtbetonte Nase, viel Cassis, viel Tiefgang, feine Würze, Rauch, Kräuter. Im Gaumen mit sehr guter Struktur und ordentlich Druck, die Tannine sind massiv, fein verwoben mit der satten Frucht, diese ist knackig, frisch, eine lebhafte Säure schwingt mit, trägt den Wein in einen sehr langen Abgang wo er auf rotfruchtige Aromen sowie schwarze Johannisbeere nachhallt. Muss reifen, könnte dereinst für Überraschungen sorgen, denn der Wein hat Reserven. 2030-2055 (Verkostet im April 2022. UGCB)

Anthocyanes

94-96 / 100

byYohan Castaingthe5/6/2022

Assemblages réalisés. Très beau nez de fruits noirs, de réglisse, de graphite avec un boisé léger et subtil, plus floral à l'aération. Bouche charnue, de l'élégance, des tanins structurants également pour une sensation boisée un peu moins présente en finale. Un Lynch-Bages très proche de son terroir grâce à sa puissance de bouche. Très salin et long en finale. Une très belle bouteille de garde.

Wine Advocate

93-95 / 100

byWilliam Kelleythe4/29/2022

The second vintage vinified in the Cazes family's new winery, the 2021 Lynch-Bages unwinds in the glass with aromas of minty cassis, sweet berries, loamy soil, black truffle and cigar wrapper, framed by nicely integrated new oak. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and muscular, it's a serious, layered, powerful, youthfully structured wine that will come together beautifully with maturation in barrel.