2020 chateau lynch-bages 5eme cru classe, pauillac
Marketplace price
Bottle size (ML)
Loading...
Why We're Buying
Pauillac is renowned for its wine. One of the reasons why: Château Lynch-Bages. The estate produces red blends primarily from cabernet sauvignon that retail well over $100. For the best results, age the eponymous wine for up to 20 years.
Critics Scores
James Suckling
Blackcurrants, orange peel, flowers and tar with hints of graphite. Full-bodied with a creamy texture of exquisitely polished tannins. It goes on and on. Intense flavors at the end, too, with lead pencil and lots of blackberry. Very classic and precise.
Wine Enthusiast
Bold black fruits and dense, textured tannins are very much in the style of the estate. What is new in this vintage is the extra precision that lifts the wine, bringing together the beautiful black currant flavors of ripe Cabernet Sauvignon with a refined texture of sophisticated tannins. This is an impressive wine, sure to age over many years.
Jeb Dunnuck
Ultra-classic notes of blackcurrants, freshly sharpened lead pencil, damp earth, and crushed stone emerge from the 2020 Château Lynch-Bages, which checks in as 60 Cabernet Sauvignon, 31 Merlot, 4 Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, all hitting 13.4 natural alcohol and a pH of 3.73 and a massive IPT of 93, which might be the highest in the vintage. Full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, it has brilliant purity of fruit, a layered, building sense of structure, and a great finish. While not austere or closed, this serious Lynch-Bages will need 10-15 years of bottle age to hit maturity and have 40-50 years of overall longevity.
Decanter
The lowest amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend on recent record but the signature of Lynch Bages is very much in play here - tons of liquorice, grippy and charismatic cassis and blueberry fruit with a velvety texture layered with blackcurrant pastilles and rich dark chocolate. This is easily one of the best Pauillacs that I have tasted in the vintage, totally gorgeous. The 33hl/ha yield meant I was worried that it would be too concentrated, but it pulls it off, although you've got to assume that they will need to be careful over ageing. Lower alcohol than both 2018 and 2019, a more classical balance in fact. 4 Cabernet Franc completes the blend.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Lynch-Bages is a blend of 60 Cabernet Sauvignon, 31 Merlot, 4 Cabernet Franc and 5 Petit Verdot, aging for around 18 months in French oak barriques, 75 new. It has an alcohol of 13.41, a pH of 3.73 and an IPT (tannin index) of 93. Opaque purple-black in color, it leaps from the glass with notes of crushed blackberries, cassis and boysenberries, plus touches of garrigue, red roses and cedar chest with hints of graphite and black olives. The medium-bodied palate has a rock-solid frame of ripe, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness supporting the tight-knit black fruit and earthy flavors, finishing long and mineral laced.
Vinous
The 2020 Lynch-Bages contains proportionately more Merlot in the blend this year (31) and will be aged for 18 months in 75 new oak. It has an intriguing bouquet, quite complex and classic in style, featuring tightly wound black fruit mixed with cedar, mint and touches of the estuary. One sniff and you know that the vines are in close proximity to the sea. The palate is medium-bodied with impressive weight on the entry, the tannins almost immediately coating the mouth (the IPT is 93, fairly high). But everything remains balanced thanks to the fine acidic thread, and it begins to firm up, becoming quite structured and, dare I say, reminiscent of Latour toward the finish. This is a Lynch-Bages that clearly will deserve long-term aging because there is real substance to this wine, and that will only increase during élevage. This is a great Lynch-Bages. The Cazes family should build a new winery to celebrate.