Chateau Lynch Bages Pauillac 2016 750 ML

• Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Lynch Bages comes charging out of the gate with pronounced cassis, chocolate-covered cherries, mulberries and menthol notions, backed up by scents of garrigue, tilled soil and a waft of tapenade. Medium to full-bodied, rich and fantastically concentrated, the generous fruit is superbly framed by firm, ripe, grainy tannins with tons of pepper, cinnamon and cloves layers coming through on the finish. Truly, a legendary Lynch Bages!

Producer Information

Château Lynch-Bages is situated in the Pauillac commune of the Médoc region in Bordeaux. The grand vin, which is made predominantly from Cabernet Sauvignon, is known for its structure and intensity, and can age for 20 years or more. It ranks among the best in the appellation. The property in the village of Bages takes the other part of its name from Thomas Lynch, a Bordeaux merchant of Irish lineage who owned the property from 1749 to 1824. It was rated a fifth growth in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855, although the reputation of the property, now in the hands of the Cazes family, soared from 1945 after a string of excellent vintages.
The vineyards are situated on a plateau west of Pauillac town on gravel, chalk and sand soils. There are over 100 hectares (247 acres) of vineyards, which beginning from- 2006 have been divided into 200 parcels to more closely match viticultural practices to terroir. Cabernet Sauvignon currently accounts for 68 percent of planted area. The rest is planted to Merlot (26), Cabernet Franc (4) and Petit Verdot (2 percent). Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats with extensive remontage (pumping-over) for concentration and color intensity. Lynch-Bages is aged for around 15 months in oak barrels, rougly two thirds of which are new. A notable feature of the estate is the old vat-house with its traditional slatted floors, ropes, pulleys and buckets, which give the advantages of gravity flow, a process incorporated into many modern winery designs.