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Chateau Lynch-Bages 1961

Château Lynch-Bages, Pauillac, France

Château Lynch-Bages
Pauillac France
  • 93
    Points
  • The 1 426 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 11 Pros of
    11 recommend
    this wine
259 93
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    1 241

  • Producer ranking ?

    19

  • Decanting time

    1h30min

  • When to drink

    now to 2030

  • Food Pairing

    Duck Bolognese

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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In 2017, absolutely terrific. It has preserved the wonderful, concentrated, cassis intensity of that period. The flavour is fabulously full, fruity and forceful and yet it slips down - all too quickly. We were lucky, as it was paired with the Grand Puy Lacoste 1961, an extraordinary twosome from Pauillac and this mythical vintage. Serena Sutcliffe, MW WA 95

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The Story

The power and elegance of a great Pauillac. Daring, innovative and known for often being the last to harvest, Jean-Charles Cazes defined the style of Lynch-Bages in the 1930's. The wine's distinctive character earns it its place amongst Pauillac's greatest. It combines structure, finesse and elegance. It is generous in its youth and develops more complex aromas with bottle age.

Outstandingly consistent quality

The estate’s reputation as ...

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Wine Information

The 1960s ushered in an era of technological advances. Steel tanks and temperature control were new phenomena. Latour followed the lead of La-Mission-Haut-Brion and installed steel tanks at its vineyards in 1964. New vines were planted and irrigation systems were installed on the plantations. Changes were also made in the structure of the wine trade, as vineyard bottling became mandatory in 1969.

The long-standing use of négociants had come...

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Average Bottle Price

2017 2014 2010 2005 2000
652€ +18.8% 549€ +33.6% 411€ +24.9% 329€ +28.5% 256€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Light and Brick red

ending

Long, Gentle and Lingering

flavors

Licorice, Toasty, Cassis, Chocolate, Leather and Earthy

nose

Unclean and Open

recommend

Yes

taste

Average in Acidity, Well-structured, Complex, Medium-bodied, Elegant, Silky and Refined

Verdict

Sophisticated

Written Notes

Harmony and elegance are the best words to describe the style of Château Lynch-Bages. Therefore it is no surprise that the outstanding vintage 1961 has taken the time so well. Beautiful deep ruby red colour with a garnet rim. The nose is stylish and layered, opening up in the glass and revealing new nuances time after time. The range of aromas spans from red berry, salted licorice, wood, leather all the way to earthy notes. The youthful palate is firm and harmonious. This wine is peaking now, but will have no problems in hanging onto the top form for another 10 to 15 years. Highly recommendable.
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  • 93p

Stupendous clarity on the nose; still astonishingly fresh. Ripe, soft red fruit – raspberry, redcurrant, sweet spice and the most seductive mélange of chocolate, violet, coffee, licorice, and earth. Utterly compelling – so layered and complex, so interesting. Dry, very lengthy (but with the slightest metallic, rusty tang on the finish). All the rest of it is in tremendous condition, the freshness is dumbfounding, the quality of the fruit is A1, the layers and grace and charm all brilliant. It's the nose that is most memorable though, giving the ideal expression of the uniqueness of terroir and maturity.

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  • 96p

The 1961 Lynch-Bages is another wine that I have not seen for quite some time. I don’t think this is the best it can show, although there is nothing obviously at fault. It has a touch of VA on the nose that enhances the liquorice-tinged black fruit, tobacco scents emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy, vivacious opening. The acidity lends this sufficient freshness, nevertheless I feel that this bottle is a tad disjointed towards the finish. Not bad, but I would love to try an ex-château example. Tasted at the 1961 dinner Chairman Miaow’s in Hong Kong.

 

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  • 90p
Harmony and elegance are the best words to describe the style of Château Lynch-Bages. Therefore it is no surprise that the outstanding vintage 1961 has taken the time so well. Beautiful deep ruby red colour with a garnet rim. The nose is stylish and layered, opening up in the glass and revealing new nuances time after time. The range of aromas spans from red berry, salted licorice, wood, leather all the way to earthy notes. The youthful palate is firm and harmonious. This wine is peaking now, but will have no problems in hanging onto the top form for another 10 to 15 years. Highly recommendable.
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  • 94p
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Information

Origin

Bordeaux, Pauillac

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Very good

Investment potential

No Potential

Fake factory

None

Drinking temperature

16

Inside Information

At the gates of Pauillac, the Lynch-Bages Estate owes part of its name to the ancient hamlet of Bages, which for centuries was home to generations of winemakers.

The area of “Batges” is mentioned as early back as the sixteenth century in the terriers (estate records) of Lafite. The vineyard was established and then expanded by the Déjean family, one with a lineage of Pauillac dignitaries, solicitors, judges and merchants. Its great wine history began in the eighteenth century when, in 1728, it became the property of Chevalier Pierre Drouillard, Treasurer General of Guyenne, who purchased it from Bernard Déjean. Upon his death in 1749, Pierre Drouillard bequeathed the estate to his daughter, Elizabeth, who was then the wife of Thomas Lynch. The property thus passed into the Lynch family for seventy-five years.

Then known as the “Cru de Lynch”, the property was sold in 1824 to Sébastien Jurine, a wine merchant from Geneva who had newly moved in Bordeaux. Under the stewardship of his young son, André-Louis, it was classified among the Cinquièmes Crus in the prestigious 1855 Classification.

In 1862, “Jurine Bages” was sold to the brothers Cayrou wine merchants who restored the estate’s name, which has remained unchanged ever since as “Lynch-Bages”. Clearly a very wise decision...

Two generations later, the château was still in the hands of a member of the Cayrou family, General Félix de Vial. In the 1930s, he leased the vineyard to Jean-Charles Cazes, who was already in charge of Château Ormes de Pez in Saint-Estèphe. Cazes would go on to purchase both properties on the eve of the Second World War. Lynch-Bages has been run by the Cazes family ever since.

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