2024 Chateau Lynch-Bages 5eme Cru Classe, Pauillac

Based on 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and 3% each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2024 Château Lynch-Bages will spend 18 months in 75% new oak. It reached 13% alcohol with a pH of 3.67. This is a rich, powerful Pauillac, just as you'd expect from this address, with a dense purple hue and rocking aromatics of smoky currants, cassis, violets, lead pencil, and spicy wood. Medium to full-bodied, it has beautiful purity, ripe tannins, and a great finish. This is a classic, impeccably balanced Lynch-Bages that will be long-lived.

A brooding nose, showing pulpy blackberries, ripe mulberries, peppercorns and violet extract. The signature Lynch-Bages tannin structure with good concentration of fruit helps deliver an almost full-bodied, structured red and a long, fruity finish. Wait and see. 70% cabernet sauvignon, 24% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot.

Ruby with violet edging, opens to show chalk and slate tannins, giving a sense of restraint and grip, this is savoury and juicy with plenty of cassis fruits, delivers Pauillac consistency in an inconsistent vintage, and also it is just rather delicious. 75% new oak. 3.67 pH, Nicolas Labenne technical director.

The 2024 Lynch-Bages is packed. Cedar, scorched earth, licorice, incense and pipe tobacco weave through a core of dark, sepia-toned fruit. I especially admire the long, polished finish and overall balance here. The 2024 is a virile Lynch Bages with a bright future. Tasted two times.

Flowers, spicy, herbs, menthol, peppery currants, and espresso in the the nose. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, fresh, and zesty, with a nice blast of chewy currants, a drop of orange rind, and a hint of peppery mint that comes in at the end of the finish adding a refreshing touch to the backend. Classic in style, (Classic in a good way) this is quite successful for the vintage. The wine blends 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. 13% ABV. 3.67 pH. The harvest took place September 13 – October 4. Yields were only 30 hectoliters per hectare. The Grand Vin was made from 60% of the harvest. Picking took place September 25 – October 8. Drink from 2029-2055.

The 2024 Lynch-Bages was cropped at just under 30 hl/ha and aged in 75% new oak for a planned 18 months. It has some initial reduction that is shaken off after several minutes. Very pure blackberry and blueberry fruit emerges with hints of melted tar and graphite, and iodine eventually lends more complexity. The palate is medium-bodied and quite focused with grippy tannins that are impressive for their fineness. The 2024 possesses palpable mineralité and a poised finish. Though this does not touch the skyscraping heights that have been achieved in recent years, it is a "capable" Lynch-Bages that might warrant two or three years in the cellar and drink well for up to 15 years or possibly longer.

Cropped at 30 hectoliters per hectare (the lowest yield at this address since 1991), the 2024 Lynch-Bages is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc. Opening in the glass with aromas of minty berries and creamy new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, dense and heavily extracted, with firm, chalky tannins that assert themselves on the mouth-puckering finish. Lynch-Bages has historically performed well in challenging vintages, but the 2024 will demand considerable patience.

70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Cask sample.

Deep crimson hue. Zesty and spicy on the nose. Generous on attack, the fruit supple and fresh. Covers the palate. Then firmness and drive on the finish. Assertive frame and structure. Definite potential. (JL)

13% Drink 2032 – 2050