Grand Cru Classé (2021)

About this wine

Château Lynch Bages 2021 is a Grand Cru Classé from Pauillac, sourced from Garonne gravel soils across about 110 hectares. The blend is Cabernet Sauvignon led at 67 percent, with 25 percent Merlot, 3 percent Cabernet Franc, and 5 percent Petit Verdot. The fruit was hand picked and sorted, and the wine aged for 18 months in French oak barrels with 75 percent new wood, a regime that adds structure and a clear frame of sweet spice and cedar. Aromatically it leans classic Pauillac, with crème de cassis, dark plum, and black cherry, alongside cigar box, graphite, and a light minty edge. On the palate it is medium to full bodied for the year, starting with a velvety attack then tightening into firm, grainy tannins, with notable freshness and a long, savory finish. In 2021 the estate reported moderate alcohol levels, and this bottling comes in at 13.14 percent alcohol with a pH of 3.72, which helps explain the wine’s drive and lift in a cooler, more classically styled vintage.

About the grape

Cabernet Sauvignon, born in Bordeaux from a natural crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc that DNA work later confirmed, is the backbone of 2021 Château Lynch Bages at about 67 percent, and it is well suited to Pauillac because the estate’s deep Garonne gravel soils help this late ripener reach full maturity. Merlot, first written about in the Bordeaux area in the late 1700s and also a child of Cabernet Franc, ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon, and at about 25 percent it helps balance the blend in a cooler year by filling in lots that do not need as long a season. Cabernet Franc has been planted in Bordeaux since at least the 1700s, it buds and ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon, and Lynch Bages uses a small portion, about 3 percent, to fine tune the final assemblage with extra freshness and complexity. Petit Verdot is a traditional Médoc blending grape that ripens very late and can be risky in Bordeaux, but in 2021 it made up about 5 percent, a sign it ripened well enough on the warm gravel plateau to earn a place in the grand vin.

Quick facts

• 🎸 The 2021 vintage has its own in house soundtrack, it is nicknamed “Rock and Roll” by the château.
• 🧾 Its official 2021 blend is 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot, and it clocks in at a very classic 13.14% alcohol.
• 🔍 Since the 2013 vintage, every bottle has a unique code and QR on the back label to verify authenticity and traceability.
• 🇮🇪 Lynch Bages has Irish roots, the Lynch family came from Galway to Bordeaux, and the estate name also nods to the village of Bages in Pauillac.
• 🏗️ 2021 comes from the era of Lynch Bages’ new gravity flow winery, using mini vats and many smaller tanks to keep parcels separate without heavy pumping.

Palate profile

Producer

Château Lynch-Bages, located in Pauillac, France, traces its origins to the 16th century in the hamlet of Bages. In 1749, Thomas Lynch, an Irishman from Galway, inherited the estate through marriage and managed it for 75 years, producing wines under the name "Cru de Lynch." The property changed hands multiple times before Jean-Charles Cazes leased it in the 1930s and purchased it in 1939; the Cazes family has managed the estate ever since. Notably, in 1985, a bottle of Lynch-Bages became the first wine to travel into space aboard the Discovery shuttle. The estate underwent significant renovations between 2017 and 2021, modernizing its winemaking facilities while preserving its rich heritage.