Château Lynch Bages 2023, Pauillac
Recommended
IN BOND
Delivery 2026
Appellation - Pauillac
Owner - Cazes family
71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.
Second wine – Echo de Lynch Bages
Annual production – 450,000 bottles
TASTING NOTES
As usual one of the chunkier, broader-shouldered wines of the Médoc, the 2023 Lynch-Bages exhibits aromas of dark berries and cassis mingled with pencil shavings, licorice and pipe tobacco, framed by creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, it's deep, concentrated and generously extracted, with plenty of youthfully chewy tannin to carry it along in the cellar. The 2023 is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.
93/95
William Kelley, Wine Advocate, April 2024
The 2023 Lynch-Bages takes some time to really settle, so I gave it 5-10 minutes in the glass. On the nose, glossy black fruit mixes with touches of cassis, graphite, violets and blood orange, perhaps demonstrating more horsepower than I anticipated. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, saturated tannins. There is a lovely symmetry to this Pauillac (not unlike Latour), armed with a cashmere texture and plenty of backbone on the finish, even though I would not describe it as a "grippy" Lynch-Bages. There’s plenty of graphite character on the aftertaste. Excellent.
93/95
Neal Martin, vinous.com, April 2024
Blackberry, black cherry, crushed stone and graphite. Lead pencil, too. It’s full-bodied with juicy, chewy tannins. Vertical and layered with lovely length. Quite plush. Chewy tannins at the end. Cabernet sauvignon driven. Showing excellent potential.
97/98
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2024
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2023 Lynch-Bages prances out with vibrant notes of crushed blackcurrants and black raspberries plus fragrant hints of violets, iron ore, bay leaves, and fragrant soil with a touch of graphite. The medium-bodied palate delivers impressive tension, with a sturdy backbone of grainy tannins and an earthy finish. The blend is 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, with pH 3.75 and TPI 95.
93/95
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, May 2024
Concentrated, intense and muscular, not a word that I have used very often in 2023 Bordeaux. You get a deeply-rooted tannic grip, with soot, squid ink, cassis, blackberry, bilberry, liqourice root, slate scrap, pummice stone and mint. Lynch Bages seems to be wrought from a different place than it was a decade ago, impressive, powerful Pauillac, with an eye on long ageing. 75% new oak, Jean-Charles Cazes owner, Nicolas Labenne technical director.
96
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, April 2024
The 2023 Lynch-Bages is a dark, brooding wine. In so many vintages, Lynch-Bages is a wine of sensuality, but in 2023, it is quite the powerhouse. Formidable tannins wrap around a core of black fruit, spice, menthol, licorice and gravel. This is a somber, introspective Lynch-Bages with a ton of Cabernet Sauvignon character. I can't wait to taste this from bottle. 2033-2073
94/97
Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, April 2024
