Blackberry, black cherry, crushed stone and graphite. Lead pencil, too. It’s full-bodied with juicy, chewy tannins. Vertical and layered with lovely length. Quite plush. Chewy tannins at the end. Cabernet sauvignon driven. Showing excellent potential.

The 2023 Lynch-Bages is a super-classic Lynch Bages through and through. Deep, rich and plush, with soft contours and tons of energy, the 2023 is terrific. All it needs is time to come together. Floral, spice and pomegranate overtones all take shape in the glass. Impeccable.

Concentrated, intense and muscular, not a word that I have used very often in 2023 Bordeaux. You get a deeply-rooted tannic grip, with soot, squid ink, cassis, blackberry, bilberry, liqourice root, slate scrap, pummice stone and mint. Lynch Bages seems to be wrought from a different place than it was a decade ago, impressive, powerful Pauillac, with an eye on long ageing. 75% new oak, Jean-Charles Cazes owner, Nicolas Labenne technical director.

Weighty and ripe, but high toned and sharp, a real push pull of tannins, concentrated fruit and acidity. Feels very complete, not necessarily all in harmony right now, this is quite intense, but there’s a statuesque element which is impressive. Both rich and cool with liquorice, graphite, plum, cherry and cranberry. Layers of freshness and a real sense of classicism makes you want to go back for more. More lean and streamlined than 2022, this is focussed and there is bite and edge to the tannins that will settle, but this is very good. 65% grand vin, 25% second wine, 10% third wine. 6% press wine. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

The flagship 2023 Château Lynch-Bages is based on 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, resting in 75% new French oak. One of the biggest, richest wines in the vintage, it’s deep purple-hued and offers up some classic Lynch richness in its smoky black fruits, smoked earth, graphite, and tobacco-driven aromatics. These carry to a full-bodied Pauillac with ample mid-palate depth, ripe, building tannins, and a great finish. While it's clearly in the lively, fresher style of the vintage, it's a serious, structured, incredibly impressive Pauillac with tons to love. It's not far off the style of the 2019.

As usual one of the chunkier, broader-shouldered wines of the Médoc, the 2023 Lynch-Bages exhibits aromas of dark berries and cassis mingled with pencil shavings, licorice and pipe tobacco, framed by creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, it's deep, concentrated and generously extracted, with plenty of youthfully chewy tannin to carry it along in the cellar. The 2023 is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.

Blackberries, black cherries, licorice, mint, flowers, camphor, and cigar wrappers produce an attention-seeking perfume. On the palate, the wine is racy, fruity, intense, long, and deep. There is a strong beginning, middle, and end, with a finish that lasts. This is a true Pauillac. The wine blends 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. 13.7% ABV. 3.75 pH. The harvest took place September 13 - October 4. Drink from 2028-2060.

The 2023 Lynch-Bages takes some time to really settle so I gave it 5-10 minutes in the glass. On the nose glossy black fruit mixes with touches of cassis graphite violets and blood orange perhaps demonstrating more horsepower than I anticipated. The palate is medium-bodied with fine saturated tannins. There is a lovely symmetry to this Pauillac (not unlike Latour) armed with a cashmere texture and plenty of backbone on the finish even though I would not describe it as a "grippy" Lynch-Bages. There’s plenty of graphite character on the aftertaste. Excellent.

As usual one of the chunkier broader-shouldered wines of the Médoc the 2023 Lynch-Bages exhibits aromas of dark berries and cassis mingled with pencil shavings licorice and pipe tobacco framed by creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied rich and layered it's deep concentrated and generously extracted with plenty of youthfully chewy tannin to carry it along in the cellar. The 2023 is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon 24% Merlot 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2023 Lynch-Bages prances out with vibrant notes of crushed blackcurrants and black raspberries plus fragrant hints of violets, iron ore, bay leaves, and fragrant soil with a touch of graphite. The medium-bodied palate delivers impressive tension, with a sturdy backbone of grainy tannins and an earthy finish. The blend is 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, with pH 3.75 and TPI 95.

71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Cask sample. Restrained nose but depth, energy and power. Layered fruit on the palate. Builds steadily, the tannins powerful but refined. Very long. Definite ageing potential. (JL)