Impressive finesse for the vintage, with beautiful, fresh tobacco, cedar and coffee aromas and flavors. Full-bodied and very silky with a fine, long finish. Drinkable now.--The Bordeaux 50. — JS

(5.6 g/l total acidity; 13% alcohol): Medium red with some brick at the rim. Deep but reticent aromas of redcurrant, tobacco leaf, licorice and tar; improved noticeably with aeration, picking up an aromatic floral quality. Juicy, round and suave, with good definition and a seamless texture to its redcurrant and soil flavors. The finish features sneaky complexity and ripe tannins, but not the grip or intensity of the best vintages of Lynch-Bages.

Ex-cellar bottle tasted blind at the Lynch Bages vertical. This has a light nose, mulberry, a touch of wild mushroom, sloe and a touch of caramel. Moderate definition. Palate is medium-bodied, quite rustic tannins, mulberry, touch of leather, the acidity a little sharp and attacking. Course, peppery finish. This is not bad, but is beginning to dry out a little. Drink now. Tasted September 2009.

Fully mature for many years, this dark garnet-colored offering reveals some amber at the edge along with hints of herbs, seaweed, olive, cedar, and fading red and black fruit. In the mouth, the fruit is being taken over by the wine’s tannin and acidity. Much of its character and soul have disappeared.