TN: 1989 Château Lynch-Bages (France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac)

WINE TALK
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  • 1989 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (12/2/2014)
    Opened a few hours prior to serving. Poured a deep, dark red with some aging at the rim. Beautiful nose of saddle leather, garrigue, subtle oak spice, and fruit leather. Amazing aromas wafted out of the glass. With air, some dark soil and licorice also emerged. On the palate it’s rich and mouth-coating while still retaining perfectly integrated tannins. Similar notes to the bouquet come out, with a gorgeous black cherry and mocha thing at center stage. Good minerality and hints of blackberry, fennel, and hoisin also come in to play especially on the finish. A marvelous wine that seems to be in a wonderful place right now. (94 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Thanks for the report! I have a couple that have been resting in my cellar…

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Beau, what on god’s green earth does garrigue smell like?

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Very big and generous wine. Thanks for the notes. FWIW, my take.

  • 1989 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (11/12/2014)
    Mike Grammer Comes to Town - KS version (Ripple Restaurant in DC): Explosive nose of cassis, crushed blackberries, ink, licorice, strong lead pencil and bell pepper, exotic dark spices and earth. Exceptional concentration, intense dark fruit and sweet dark spice driven palate impression, dense chewy yet silky palate, nicely integrated tannins and intense long dark fruit driven finish. Extremely youthful but overabundant intense dark sweet fruit makes this wine very enjoyable. As Bob like to say this is a tour de force. Although extremely enjoyable and incredibly impressive, the overall expression is not terribly complex hence my rating of only 96 pts. (96 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Mediterranean scrub. I think of it as wild sage, wild brush, juniper and oak trees. Herbal, botanical, woody and even bitter at times. There are many parts of California that are dead-ringers for garrigue later in summer or on a warm day in fall.

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I think of the dusty underside of a thyme or rosemary bush on a warm day. Maybe some sage and mesquite mixed in. There’s a wildness but also a familiarity to garrigue.

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Cool note, Kevin. The only thing I didn’t get on this particular bottle was the bell pepper. [cheers.gif]