Wow. Blackcurrants, blueberries, blackberries and flowers. Full-bodied with beautifully integrated tannins that melt into the wine. Persistent and precise. A fantastic wine for the cellar. 66% cabernet sauvignon, 28% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot.

Full on inky purple in colour, this is sculpted and full of character. Intense, not just a reflection of the vintage but in the increasing concentration found in Lynch Bages over the past decade. Delivers so much character, wtih charcoal, soot, campfire, liquorice, slate, bilberry, cassis. Hugely impressive and complex, will age for decades. As it opens and those fierce tannins loosen their grip a little, the floral character of the Cabernet Sauvignon becomes more clear. It's austere right now, with shoulders and muscles, but I am fully on board. One to wait for. 75% new oak. Harvest September 12 to 24.

Ripe and generous on the palate, this is chewy, crunchy and alive. Ripe fruit is there - chewy and sweet black currants and cherries - fleshy and filling - as is concentration of flavours, but there's a delicate layering of elements which builds the wine on the palate giving power but also focus and precision. Still feels a little shy, with tension there in the funnelling of flavours and a relatively crisp finish but this will elongate in time. Cool blueberries, wet stones, pencil lead and graphite give the mineral touches. No overt heat, oak or spice which also is excellent. One for the long haul. Built with ageing in mind I think.

Exceptional, liquorice, slate, graphite, pumice stone tannins and a salt scrape on the finish that is key to balancing out this ripe full bodied Lynch. Great stuff, with ageing potential in spades. High alcohol for a Pauillac no question, but this walks the line with grace. 75% new oak for ageing, Nicolas Labenne winemaker.

The Grand Vin 2022 Château Lynch Bages checks in as 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. It actually reminds me slightly of the 2019, and while it's a classic Lynch Bages powerhouse, it has beautiful balance and purity. Cassis, graphite, lead pencil, and chalky minerality all define the aromatics, and it's full-bodied, with terrific tannins and a layered, incredibly impressive profile that continues to open and evolve with time in the glass. Tasted twice with consistent notes.

The 2022 Lynch-Bages was picked 12 September, around 15 days earlier than usual until 24 September at around 35hL/ha. Aged for 18 months in 75% new oak, it has a backward nose that demands a lot of encouragement. This is not as immediate as the 2016 or 2019 at the same stage. Powerful blackberry and boysenberry fruit, cedar and light tobacco notes, this feels like an edifice of aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins, beautifully balanced, very harmonious yet there is an enormous backbone here that (again) is reminiscent of Mouton. Extremely long on the finish, this will need its barrel maturation to fully knit together and it is going to be a Pauillac for the long haul.

The 2022 Lynch-Bages shows all the classic Lynch layers, but dialed up to the maximum. Rich, deep and explosive, the 2022 packs tremendous punch. Sweet dark cherry, spice, leather, menthol, licorice, plum and mocha all open with time in the glass. The tannins are imposing, and yet there is more than enough fruit to balance things out, at least to some degree. I expect the 2022 will need a decade to shed some of its tannin, but it is formidable, even in the early going. Impressive. Tasted two times. "This is the third time in history we are above 14% in alcohol, the others were 2018 and 2019," Jean-Charles Cazes explained.

The 2022 Lynch-Bages is one of the most muscular, chunky wines of the vintage in the Médoc, offering up aromas of dark berries, cherry preserve, pencil shavings and creamy new oak, followed by a full-bodied, rich and extracted palate that's dense and blocky. While Lynch-Bages always seems to come together with time, the 2022 is certainly going to require some patience.

One of the vintage's most powerful, muscular wines is the 2022 Lynch-Bages, a full-bodied, broad-shouldered Pauillac that unfurls in the glass with aromas of cassis, cherries, mint, pencil shavings and petroleum jelly, framed by nicely integrated new oak. Liberally extracted, its deep core of fruit is underpinned by an imposing chassis of rich, powdery tannin and lively acids. Always rather forbidding from barrel, Lynch Bages always seems to come together in bottle, and the 2022 has the makings of another success for this address.

66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot. Cask sample. Aromatically spicy and exuberant, the fruit generous and full. Layers of fruit on the palate backed by an impressive tannic frame. Real power and persistence. Harmonious as well. Long life ahead. (JL)

66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Aged for 18 months in oak barrels (75% new). Purple-black colour. Fragrant nose with notes of dark fruit and spice. Sumptuous palate, the fruit full and suave, the tannins firm but fine and integrated. Real depth and concentration. Powerful and long on the finish. Not quite fully knit but huge potential. (JL)