1996 Château Lynch-Bages

Château Lynch-Bages gets its name form its 17th century founder, Thomas Lynch, whose father emigrated from Ireland in 1691 to Bordeaux. Thomas Lynch married a woman in the village of Bages who inherited the estate that is now Château Lynch-Bages. In the 18th and 19th centuries the estate was bought and sold several times, but in 1937 it was purchased by the grandfather of the current owner, who is is Jean-Michel Cazes. In the 1950s and 1960s the wines of Château Lynch-Bages were some of the most heralded of Pauillac and Jean-Michel has continued to focus on quality. Although Château Lynch-Bages is a Fifth Growth Bordeaux according to the 1855 classification, most reviewers say the château’s wines are much closer to the quality of Second Growth wines. The estate includes 235 acres planted to 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 14% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot. Vines are 35 years old, on average, and 38,000 cases are produced annually.

Pauillac is Bordeaux’s most famous appellation, thanks to the fact that it is home to three of the region’s fabled first-growth châteaux, Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothschild and Latour. Perched on the left bank of the Gironde River north of the city of Bordeaux, Pauillac is centered around the commune of Pauillac and includes about 3,000 acres of vineyards. The Bordeaux classification of 1855 named 18 classified growths, including the three above mentioned First Growths. Cabernet Sauvignon is the principal grape grown, followed by Merlot. The soil is mostly sandy gravel mixed with marl and iron. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that “the textbook Pauillac would tend to have a rich, full-bodied texture, a distinctive bouquet of black currants, licorice and cedary scents, and excellent aging potential.”