Chateau Lynch Bages, Pauillac 2014, Bordeaux, France

About Chateau Lynch Bages: Thomas Lynch was a descendant of the Tribes of Galway. His father John emigrated in 1691 from Galway, Ireland to Bordeaux, inherited an estate in the village of Bages through his wife, Elizabeth, in 1749. This year represents the foundation of Château Lynch-Bages, which Thomas passed on to his son, Jean-Baptiste, upon his marriage in 1779. Jean-Baptiste soon handed over supervision to his brother Michel who maintained responsibility for the Bages estate until 1824, when the family sold it to a Swiss wine merchant, Sebastien Jurine, who had recently moved to Bordeaux.

Château Lynch-Bages remained in the hands of the Jurine family, followed by the Cayrou family, for over a hundred years. In 1934, Jean-Charles Cazes rented the property from its then owner, Felix de Vial, subsequently purchasing it in 1938. After Jean-Charles Cazes’ death, aged 95, in 1972, the estate has been largely managed by his grandson, Jean-Michel Cazes.[2]

In the late 1980s, the AXA Millésimes group began to develop a portfolio of wine property holdings, and approached Jean-Michel Cazes for help (Claude Bébéar, the AXA President, was a long-time Cazes family friend). They established Châteaux & Associés, which Cazes ran until he reached 65, and which by the end of the twentieth century owned many vineyards across Europe. Ownership of Château Lynch-Bages, however, remains with the Cazes family.

In 2017, the Cazes family has acquired Château Haut-Batailley, the 1855 Grand Cru Classé estate in Pauillac.

Description: 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Showing real volume, weight and substance. Nose has dark fruits, cassis and liqourice while the palate exudes rich, silky and sublime density and sweetness. Continually expressive onto the finish. Wine for laying down. Drink 2025-2040.

Wine critics:

93-94 points James Suckling
” A fruity wine for the vintage with dense tannins. Full body, with impressive structure. Long finish. Generous and attractive. I like the balance and precision for the vintage.”

93-95 points Wine Enthusiast
“The wine is very dry, layered tannins giving a major sense of structure. It will always have this dry, dense character, very firm, solid and powerful.”

Alcohol: 13%