2022 Château Lynch-Bages En Primeur
Released for sale en primeur this morning at £635 per six bottles, 2022 Château Lynch Bages receives scores as high as 98-99 points from James Suckling.
"..sculpted and full of character. Intense, not just a reflection of the vintage but in the increasing concentration found in Lynch Bages over the past decade...austere right now, with shoulders and muscles, but I am fully on board. One to wait for." Jane Anson
"The 2022 Lynch-Bages shows all the classic Lynch layers, but dialed up to the maximum." Antonio Galloni
Customers of a certain age will remember when a bottle of 'Lunch Bags' was as understated and reliable as a Turnbull & Asser shirt with slightly frayed cuffs; a sound purchase that would stand up in any company, but this châteaux has been aiming at the top-tier of quality for some years. With the 2022 vintage, it looks like it has arrived.
Jane Anson's tasting note sums up the style of this new release, which is architectural, muscular, and precise. It was tricky to judge when tasting it from cask, there was so much power and tannic structure, but there was no mistaking the quality. In that respect, there is still something old-fashioned about Lynch, a wine that needs at least a dozen years before it will reveal its full potential.
Stock is limited, so please let us know as soon as possible if you would like to order.
One of six enormous 100 hectolitre elevator vats which bring the wine up from for pumping-over and racking ('delestage'), removing the need for pumps which can reduce aroma and flavour in the finished wine.
Offered en primeur landing spring 2025.
To order, e-mail us at sales@richardkihl.ltd.uk
Producer Profile
Château Lynch-Bages, Cru Classé Pauillac
Château Lynch-Bages is a Cinquièmes Cru Classé in Pauillac, founded in 1749 by Thomas Lynch in the villages of Bages. Lynch's father John has emigrated in 1691 from Galway in Ireland to Bordeaux. The estate changed hands in the nineteenth century and was eventually purchased in the 1930s by Jean-Charles Cazes. In 1972, his grandson Jean-Michel Cazes took over, followed by his son Jean-Charles. The technical director is Nicholas Labenne.
The 90 hectares are just outside Pauillac itself, with the vineyard on the Bages gravel ridge, looking down on the Gironde, planted to 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Around 25,000 cases are made in an average year. The second wine is 'Echo de Lynch-Bages'.
Construction of a new winery began in 2018 and 2020 is the first vintage to be made in it.
See Jean-Charles Cazes introduce the new winery at Lynch-Bages:
| RED | 2022 | Château Lynch Bages | 75cl | £635 per case of 6 | Château Lynch Bages 2022 / / 75cl £635 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"One of the vintage's most powerful, muscular wines is the 2022 Lynch-Bages, a full-bodied, broad-shouldered Pauillac that unfurls in the glass with aromas of cassis, cherries, mint, pencil shavings and petroleum jelly, framed by nicely integrated new oak. Liberally extracted, its deep core of fruit is underpinned by an imposing chassis of rich, powdery tannin and lively acids. Always rather forbidding from barrel, Lynch Bages always seems to come together in bottle, and the 2022 has the makings of another success for this address. 93-96 points" William Kelley, RobertParker.com------"The 2022 Lynch-Bages shows all the classic Lynch layers, but dialed up to the maximum Rich, deep and explosive, the 2022 packs tremendous punch. Sweet dark cherry, spice, leather, menthol, licorice, plum and mocha all open with time in the glass. The tannins are imposing, and yet there is more than enough fruit to balance things out, at least to some degree I expect the 2022 will need a decade to shed some of its tannin, but it is formidable, even in the early going. Impressive. Tasted two times. "This is the third time in history we are above 14% in alcohol, the others were 2018 and 2019" Jean Charles Cazes explained. 95-97 points" Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com-----"The 2022 Lynch-Bages was picked 12 September, around 15 days earlier than usual until 24 September at around 35hL/ha. Aged for 18 months in 75% new oak, it has a backward nose that demands a lot of encouragement. This is not as immediate as the 2016 or 2019 at the same stage. Powerful blackberry and boysenberry fruit, cedar and light tobacco notes, this feels like an edifice of aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins, beautifully balanced, very harmonious yet there is an enormous backbone here that (again) is reminiscent of Mouton. Extremely long on the finish, this will need its barrel maturation to fully knit together and it is going to be a Pauillac for the long haul. 2032-2075. 95-97 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com------"Full on inky purple in colour, this is sculpted and full of character. Intense, not just a reflection of the vintage but in the increasing concentration found in Lynch Bages over the past decade. Delivers so much character, wtih charcoal, soot, campfire, liquorice, slate, bilberry, cassis. Hugely impressive and complex, will age for decades. As it opens and those fierce tannins loosen their grip a little, the floral character of the Cabernet Sauvignon becomes more clear. It's austere right now, with shoulders and muscles, but I am fully on board. One to wait for. 75% new oak. Harvest September 12 to 24. 97 points" janeanson.com------"Wow. Blackcurrants, blueberries, blackberries and flowers. Full-bodied with beautifully integrated tannins that melt into the wine. Persistent and precise. A fantastic wine for the cellar. 66% cabernet sauvignon, 28% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot. 98-99 points" jamessuckling.com |
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