Chateau Lynch Bages 2017

JAMES SUCKLING: "This is a focused and tight Lynch with beautiful blackcurrants, slate, graphite and lead pencil. Medium to full body. Very fine tannins and brightness. Linear line of tannins that runs nicely through the wine. A blend of 70% cabernet sauvignon, 24% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot."

WEINWISSER: "Purpurgranat mit rubinroten Reflexen. Was für ein tiefgründiges Bouquet mit schwarzbeerigen Konturen, zarter Mentholnote, Moschus und exotischen Hölzern. Am Gaumen spielt das Kraftpaket seine Stärken aus, engumschlungen ziehen sich die Muskelstränge um den athletischen Körper. Im aromatischen, langanhaltenden Finale mit stützender Adstringenz und kakaoartiger Extraktsüsse. Grosses Lynch-Bages-Kino, der klopft schon jetzt ziemlich laut bei den 19 Punkten an!"

JEB DUNNUCK: "A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, brought up in 75% new French oak, the 2017 Chateau Lynch-Bages sports an inky color as well as a powerful, full-bodied style. Rocking blackcurrants, chocolate, smoked tobacco, and obvious minerality all emerge from this beautiful, concentrated wine that has building tannins, the more elegant, silky style of the vintage, a great mid-palate, and a blockbuster finish. It's going to hit the ground running in about 5-7 years and cruise 20 years or more in cool cellars."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Deep ruby colour. Spicy, rich nose full of black fruit. Dense, chocolatey but still serious with damson and blackcurrant at the core. Just as the ripeness builds there is a vibrant line of acidity to keep everything in check. This is a musclebound wine. Despite mouth-coating tannins, the impression is fine and precise. Ageworthy, with a long, expansive finish."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "This concentrated, dense wine follows the estate's hallmark richness. Solid and generous, it has both weight and layers of fresh acidity. The wine promises well, ready to drink from 2024."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Lynch Bages sashays out of the glass with flamboyant scents of baked blackcurrants, blackberry preserves and mulberries plus touches of lavender, dark chocolate, star anise and unsmoked cigars. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has bags of class and finesse with firm, finely-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and fragrant."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "A super effort for the vintage, the vintage, the wine offers ample concentration, round, ripe tannins and big, juicy bite of sweet, fresh Cabernet grapes. Classic in style, with a nice dusty complexity in the texture in the finish, if you can hold off for 7-9 years, this is going to pay big dividends."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This leans toward the austere side of Pauillac, with a slightly bracing iron and chalk frame around a core of red and black currant fruit, liberally laced with savory and cedar notes. Exhibits ample length and cut, showing really pure and beautifully defined currant flavors. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2040."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung, attraktive Brombeerfrucht, ein Hauch von Cassis und schwarzem Waldbeerkonfit, feine Nuancen von Dörrpflaumen im Hintergrund. Saftig, mittlere Komplexität, reife Herzkirschen, feine Tannine, frisch und gut anhaltend, verfügt über Reifepotenzial."