Tasting notes
James Suckling · James Suckling · 98
A wine with great beauty and finesse. Such elegance and ethereal quality for this estate. Full body, with ultra-fine tannins and a juicy delicious finish. Long and beautiful. This is the best Lynch in a long, long time. I love the precision here. Try in 2018.
Georgie Hindle · Decanter · 97
Perfumed, fleshy and serious. Has a darker, moodier flavour profile than some. Blackcurrant, plum, black cherry, with soft tobacco and dark chocolate notes. Tannins are chewy and broad. Very Pauillac in its show of power. Gorgeously mouthcoating, giving weight and a frame, carrying the dense fruit but still keeping the detail. On the larger side, but with a moreish juicy acidity. Compelling if not very accessible right now.
Jane Anson · Decanter · 97
This is tannic architecture fully realised in a glass, one to taste to understand just how muscular Pauillac can become. Even at 15 years old it is still closed and a little austere, even a little raw, but with zero doubt that it will smooth out. Punchy, liquorice root, black fruits, bilberry, crayon, crushed rocks, smoked earth, pomegranate, gunsmoke, curling violets as it opens.
William Jackson · Wine Advocate · 97
Still a saturated ruby-black in hue, the 2010 Lynch-Bages offers up aromas of rich cassis fruit mingled with hints of pencil shavings, loamy soil and cigar wrapper. Full-bodied, deep and muscular, it's rich and layered, with a concentrated core of fruit that's framed by firm, powdery tannins and lively acids. The most brooding, backward Lynch-Bages of the decade and one of the real successes of the vintage, this is a vibrant, tightly wound wine that is still an infant at age 10. Readers with bottles in their cellars might try one now out of curiosity, but this 2010 won't begin to hit its stride until age 20.
Jeb Dunnuck · Jeb Dunnuck · 96
A classic, masculine, structured wine from this great château, the 2010 Château Lynch-Bages reveals smoky black fruits, iron, graphite, and crushed stone-driven aromas and flavors. Still youthful and full-bodied on the palate, it has building tannins, a concentrated, layered, powerful mouthfeel, and a great finish. It’s certainly accessible yet still probably 4-5 years away from its true prime drinking window. Drink 2030-2060.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW · Wine Advocate · 96
Deep garnet colored, the 2010 Lynch Bages comes sailing out of the glass with notes of redcurrant jelly, black cherry compote and cassis plus wafts of smoked meats, tar, cigar box and dried roses. Full-bodied, the palate is stacked with red and black fruit layers, framed by ripe, firm, fine-grained tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing very long.
Neal Martin · Vinous · 95
The 2010 Lynch-Bages has a tightly wound nose: introverted black fruit, cedar and mint. Touches of iris flower and pencil box both emerge with aeration. These aromatics say: "Come back later." The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, fine acidity and firm grip. It feels linear towards the finish but is fresh with an attractive underlying marine note that enlivens and lends complexity to the finish. This is outstanding, but it is only for those with patience. Tasted at the Lynch-Bages vertical at the château.
Stephen Tanzer · Vinous · 92+
Bright ruby-red. Classic Pauillac aromas and flavors of cassis, black cherry, menthol, minerals and licorice lifted by a violet topnote. Intensely flavored and sharply delineated, with terrific fruit intensity to support its very bright acidity. This firmly structured, gripping wine is a bit dominated by its serious tannic spine today, but the dark berry fruit gained dramatically in creaminess with some time in the glass. Potentially one of the best vintages for this large property in many years.
Ian D'Agata · Vinous · 90-93
(79% cabernet sauvignon, 18% merlot, 2% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot) Deep ruby. Fresh aromas of red berries, plum, underbrush and minerals. Enters the mouth light and lively, showing clean flavors similar to the aromas. A politely styled Lynch-Bages, this pure, medium-bodied wine shows excellent balance, but some claret lovers might be left wishing for a little more creamy flesh and intensity.
