16 Jun 2021

2020 Château Lynch-Bages is described as "a great Lynch-Bages" and "reminiscent of Latour" by Neal Martin (94-96 points), but the scores and notes only tell half the story here.  To our minds, this is a revolutionary vintage, released with a special label to mark the first vintage be made in the new winery, designed by architect Chien Chung Pei.  Bordeaux really is at the cutting edge of winemaking technology and it is worth watching Jean-Charles Cazes give a short tour of the winery (scroll to bottom). 

Part of Lynch's reputation as an over-delivering fifth growth was built on the then-revolutionary vat house built in 1850 by Skawinski.  Brilliant as they are, the wines from this winery did not possess the same laser-focused purity of fruit as wines like Pichon-Lalande, made with modern micro-vinification.  Jancis Robinson notes this new 'purer' direction, and Neal Martin suggests the 2020 will only improve during its elevage.  It also allows more balanced wines in hot vintages, with the 2020 checking in at a moderate 13.4% abv. This is the first in a new breed of Lynch-Bages vintages, an exciting time for the estate.

Bordeaux En Primeur, landing in spring 2023

To order, e-mail us at sales@richardkihl.ltd.uk

 

 

See Jean-Charles Cazes introduce the 2020 vintage:

 

 

 

Producer Profile

Château Lynch-Bages, Cru Classé Pauillac

Château Lynch-Bages is a Cinquièmes Cru Classé in Pauillac, founded in 1749 by Thomas Lynch in the villages of Bages. Lynch's father John has emigrated in 1691 from Galway in Ireland to Bordeaux.  The estate changed hands in the nineteenth century and was eventually purchased in the 1930s by Jean-Charles Cazes.  In 1972, his grandson Jean-Michel Cazes took over, followed by his son Jean-Charles. The technical director is Nicholas Labenne.

The 90 hectares are just outside Pauillac itself, with the vineyard on the Bages gravel ridge, looking down on the Gironde, planted to 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.  Around 25,000 cases are made in an average year.   The second wine is 'Echo de Lynch-Bages'.

Construction of a new winery began in 2018 and 2020 is the first vintage to be made in it.

See Jean-Charles Cazes introduce the new winery at Lynch-Bages: