Château Lynch Bages Pauillac 2020

To raise the ceiling for quality, sometimes you have to literally raise the ceiling. Proprietor Jean-Charles Cazes and winemaker Nicolas Labenne completed a massive new winery in time for the 2020 harvest, christening it with a classic-quality wine. Lynch Bages has long been beloved in the U.S. (and has been affectionately nicknamed “lunch bags” within some English-speaking wine circles). Its 1985 vintage won Wine of the Year honors in 1988. This is the flagship property in the Cazes family business, which includes six estates in France as well as a hotel and restaurants in the charming town of Bages itself. The 2020 vintage proves once again that the estate punches well above its fifth-growth classification. The 2020 grand vin offers a beautiful take on modern Bordeaux, with pure cassis and violet notes leading off, followed by waves of sweet tobacco and iron.

Tasting Note

Gorgeous from the start, with cassis and violet notes leading off, followed by additional waves of black cherry and blackberry fruit as well as sweet tobacco and iron. Shows subtle savory and cedar hints that stay in the background, as the iron note pierces through the fruit on the finish. Almost approachable for the fruit, but wait if you can. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2040.—James Molesworth