While technically ranked as a Fifth Growth, Château Lynch-Bages is in a small group of over-performing estates that reach well beyond their placement in the Classification of 1855. This major under-ranking is good news for you because wines of this caliber that ranked higher in the classification usually fetch much higher prices, especially from esteemed older vintages. This Pauillac estate has shown its pedigree in recent decades as a muscular, Cabernet-dominated Bordeaux with nuanced black fruits, tobacco, cedar, and crushed graphite aromas vintage after vintage. Lynch-Bages is the quintessential scholar athlete, performing at high levels across domains of both power and intelligence.
While the estate has been known for its hard-edged power, since 2009, precision viticulture has been carried out. They have spent millions mapping the vineyards to meticulous detail with drones, satellites, and GPS. This allows the estate to farm up to 350 smaller plot sizes and get into a truly crazy level of detail with geo-located fertilizing tractors that can adapt ratios of organic and mineral fertilizers based on vineyard needs with a specificity as tiny as five meters. The wines are archetypal examples of Pauillac's dominating power, and excellent examples like these are reliable for over 30 years. We have a number of special vintages available tonight, including some gorgeous 1995 back vintage and the revered and highly collectible 2010 that had all the critics raving. These wines are in it for the long haul and can be cellared for decades - BRANDON KERNE, MASTER SOMMELIER
91 Points From Neal Martin of Vinous
"The 2004 Lynch Bages, which contains 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, the highest thus far, has a refined bouquet with blackberry, wild strawberry, orange rind and light graphite scents, holding up very nicely after 20 years. The palate is medium-bodied with a slightly lactic entry, finely balanced with a keen line of acidity and a dash of black pepper towards the finish. It's not long, but there is plenty of sapidity here. Drink over the next decade. (April 2022)"
