Lynch Bages has been released this morning. We are hugely oversubscribed and the volume released is down on 2015. We are working on gathering as much stock as we can and will do our best to cover all pre-orders but in reality this wine must now be considered as sold out.
A wine we consider to be an absolute no-brainer was released this morning: Echo de Lynch Bages 2016 at GBP 340. Another undeniable example of the best second wines reaching a new standard in 2016 and this Echo may just be the cream of the crop.
Our early Thursday morning tasting of the Lynch Bages stable, at Ormes de Pez in St Estephe, was the biggest eye-opener of the entire Primeur tasting trip. But it wasn’t just the Grand Vin that took our breath away; the already released (and big-selling) Ormes de Pez set a standard which was rapidly followed by a truly remarkable Echo de Lynch Bages which we awarded 94-95 points on tasting it. Outside of the First Growth estates it was our highest-scoring second wine on the Left Bank, and, considering it is around 25% of the expected price of its closest quality rivals (we’re talking Carruades de Lafite and Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux here), it is the ultimate no-brainer of the campaign so far.
And, as the campaign is really beginning to kick into gear, Grand Mayne was released this morning at GBP 360. This is a St Emilion which has undergone quite a transformation over the past couple of years and is well worth your consideration – given its 94-96pt rating from Neal Martin...
'frankly, it is one of the best I have tasted from this Saint Emilion estate.'
Chateau Gazin has been on a roll in recent years and 2016 is no exception - it was released this morning at GBP 720 with Neal Martin saying: 'thereupon you will have a really marvellous Gazin that will give [thirty] years of drinking pleasure, possibly more.'