2019 Chateau Lynch-Moussas 5eme Cru Classe, Pauillac

The 2019 Lynch Bages is stunning. Rich, ample and dramatic, the 2019 possesses tremendous richness and an intensity that builds all the way through to the finish. Inky red and purplish fruit, new leather, cedar and blueberry are all pushed forward here. Vibrant and expansive from the very first taste, with tremendous saline energy backing it all up, Lynch Bages is pure magic in 2019. Wow. Don't miss it! June 2020

The 2019 Lynch-Moussas comes in a swanky bespoke embossed bottle to celebrate a century's ownership by the Castèja family (and very tasteful it is too.) Does it have a wine worthy of this anniversary, you ask. Well, it has a very attractive mint-tinged bouquet, a mélange of red and black fruit laced with brown spices and cedar. It gains intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with a lightly spiced entry: black pepper and a touch of Earl Grey infusing the black fruit. Well-balanced, fresh and showing similar class to its sibling Batailley. This is indeed a very fine Lynch-Moussas that frankly is a significant step up from some of the wines I was tasting a decade ago. Excellent.

A rather rich, dramatic rendition of this estate, the 2019 Lynch-Moussas bursts with aromas of dark berry fruit, pencil shavings and toasty new oak. Full-bodied, ample and muscular, with a fleshy core of fruit, succulent acids and ripe, powdery tannins that assert themselves on the finish, it will reward a bit of bottle age with flamboyant drinking.

Tasted blind. Some ruby notes. Very evolved fruit. Lacks freshness. Very tart on the finish. Not much depth. (JR)