Château Lynch Bages, Pauillac, 2015

Excellent Lynch Bages Pauillac

"Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Lynch Bages offers up crushed black berries, black cherries and dried herbs with an earthy undercurrent. The medium-bodied palate is firm and taut with lively fruit and a chewy finish." Robert Parker

• Rated 92+ Pts Robert Parker, Feb 2018
  
• 94 Pts Decanter, Nov 2018
• Fine and dense Pauillac
• Top seller white wine
  

Food Pairing: Classic meat dishes, veal, pork, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes.

Cellaring: Now till 2038.

STORY BEHIND THIS WINE BY T.P. WHELEHAN

"Château Lynch-Bages is one of the finest, most famous and most sought after of all the wines of the region with an Irish connection.

   Though only a Pauillac Fifth Growth, it currently commands the price of a Second Growth. It is recorded as a single property as early as the sixteenth century, and in 1728 was purchased by the Drouillard family by which it then came through marriage to the Lynchs. It was inherited by Mme Lynch (née Drouillard), who also owned Château Dauzac, in 1749. She was the wife of Thomas-Michel Lynch, eldest son of John Lynch, who was born in Galway in 1669 and fought with King James at the Battle of the Boyne. He sailed from Galway with the departing French armies after the battle, and settled in Bordeaux, where he founded an important trading company and subsequently married a local beauty, Guillemette Constant. The family assumed French nationality in 1710, the year of Thomas-Michel Lynchs birth.

The famous Comte Jean-Baptiste Lynch, Mayor of Bordeaux, was born on the 3rd June 1749, at the familys other property, Château Dauzac (which, for a long time, was known as Dauzac-Lynch, and is dealt with later) the second of eight children. The most wily of politicians, James Seely in his book Great Bordeaux Wines likened him to the Vicar of Bray who could change religions according to the reigning monarch.

The property was administered by the Comtes younger brother Michel who died without issue in 1840. It had been sold prior to that, in 1824, to a Swiss wine merchant. The current owners are the Cazes family who have been making the wine here since 1934 and never better than in the last ten years. The dynamic Jean Michel Cazes is very proud of the Galway connection and is a regular visitor to the city of the tribes. The family also own the splendid Château Les Ormes de Pez in St.-Estèphe.

The style of the wine is rich, full, fruity, with an intense and classically Pauillac aroma. Professionals can often identify it blind. Like many Médocs the 1986 is a powerful wine, full of fruit but also very tannic. It should mature into an exceptional wine in 15 years time. 1985 has a different style. Great body, wonderfully cassis aromas, but softer and more supple. In 10 years it will please greatly. Both 1983 and 1982 are among the top wines of the vintage and both need another 5 to 6 years at least. Tasted at the Château side by side, the 1982 was preferred. Now I am not so sure. The 1966 with dinner at the Château was disappointing. The 1961 is still quite stunning." T.P Whelehan, The Irish Wines of Bordeaux.