One of the clear standouts where the fruit has real depth and is laced with black chocolate, liquorice, cassis as well as cassis bud. Cabernet dominant, will some angularity to the tannins but this is high quality, and has a floral lift and juiciness to it. A food vintage, because acidities are pretty high, but this delivers one of the best wines of Pauillac. New optical sorter used this year. 65% new oak, 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 66% of production in the first wine. Drinking Window 2021 - 2040
Blind tasted by Jane Anson (at Bordeaux, 19 Feb 2021)
Part of Bordeaux 2011: The top-rated wines tasted 10 years on

A dense, chewy wine for the vintage, with plum, currant and blackberry character. Full body, polished tannic texture and a bright finish. Very pretty indeed. This needs time to soften. Try in 2019. – jamessuckling.com, Feb 2014

[72CS/23M/3CF/2PV] Dense to smell, a blackberry ripe fruit; vivid, concentrated midweight with firm but very fine tannin; long, dense and complex, very mineral in flavour, freshly ripe rather than ‘sweetly’ ripe in fruit, pure, lean and lithe, lovely minerally length. Classic claret, slender without being weak and in the tighter, tauter style that has been typical of Lynch Bages over the past few years. Complete and fine in the vintage. 2022-35+ [M.Schuster, Bordeaux Mar/Apr 2012]

This has solid guts, with plum, currant and blackberry fruit melded together at the core, while notes of charcoal, warm tobacco and singed iron form the backdrop. Should be very solid when it comes together after some cellaring. Best from 2016 through 2028. – James Molesworth (WineSpectator.com, March 2014)

Big structure and power but this time with much darker, spiced plum fruit and a true Pauillac character - cassis, graphite, gravel and toast. Big, ripe tannins but still retaining a freshness which appears to be a welcome character of the vintage, and at a very pleasant alcohol level.

The 2011 Lynch Bages is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot raised in 75% new oak. It has an elegant, understated bouquet compared to its peers, with pure blackberry and cedar aromas, linear and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a gentle but firm grip, with a harmonious crisp quintessential Pauillac finish with graphite lingering on the aftertaste. This is a stylish Lynch Bages, born to be drunk and enjoyed. – eRobertParker.com, May 2012

The medium-bodied 2011 Lynch Bages possesses a saturated ruby/purple color as well as beautiful creme de cassis notes, a generous, concentrated, well-made, medium to full-bodied style and supple tannins. A successful effort in 2011, it should be drinkable in 3-4 years and last for 15+. It is a sleeper of the vintage. 90 points – Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #212, April 2014)

The medium-bodied 2011 Lynch Bages possesses a saturated ruby/purple color as well as beautiful creme de cassis notes, a generous, concentrated, well-made, medium to full-bodied style and supple tannins. A successful effort in 2011, it should be drinkable in 3-4 years and last for 15+. It is a sleeper of the vintage.

Opaque purple-ruby. Lead pencil, coffee, black pepper and blackberry on the nose. Enters sweet and suave, then turns lean and a bit dry in the middle, showing only moderate concentration to its red cherry and peppery flavors. Picks up some flesh and volume at the back, finishing good persistence, smooth tannins and a lingering note of cassis. A charming Lynch-Bages that’s more forward than usual and will probably be best drunk over the near to medium term.

Quality 683 | Brand 997 | Economics 896 | buzz brand
Quality: Above the average quality score of its peer group for the 2011 vintage, 649 Brand: #3 strongest restaurant presence on Wine Lister, featuring on 54 of the world's top wine lists, including Auberge du Soleil Economics: Below its peer group average price of £72 for the 2011 vintage Production: Older vines than its peer group average of 32 years

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017

Ripe, pure black fruit with loads of tannin. Really pert and pursed. Exceedingly youthful, but full of potential. (RH)

Tasted blind. Blackish crimson. Very dry and austere. More like a St-Estèphe! Drink: 2022-2032 - – jancisrobinson.com, Nov 2015

72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Aged for 15 months in oak barrels (65% new). Deep colour. Dark fruit and graphite nose. Plenty of freshness. Punchy tannins but the fruit is there. Not the most flamboyant wine, even a little backward but there’s substance. (JL)

Sweet, pure damson fruit. Firm, rich, dense. Compact and closed but powder-fine tannins. All in place but not yet showing itself. Really chewy finish. Long and thickly textured. (JH)