Château Lynch-Bages 2009

Tight and backward, this has dense, almost chewy layers of fig, currant and plum cake behind a very solid wall of cedar, roasted vanilla and charcoal notes. There's serious grip on the finish, with an iron edge that won't quit. Best from 2015 through 2035. 31,500 cases made.

This is a little more subdued than some right now, needing a good five minutes in the glass before revealing layers of rich olive, cassis, exotic spices, cracked pepper and garrigue. You get the heat of the vintage and the ripeness of the fruit, balanced by muscular, chewy tannins and gorgeous chocolate notes. This is great, although for me the 2010 just pips it.

A powerful and ripe wine with a wide-screen personality, this makes a very bold statement without becoming a jot heavy. Serious tannins at the long finish suggest this has long-term aging potential. Drink now with a big steak or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)

Surprisingly forward for Lynch Bages, as they are usually one of the last wines to open up. But 2009 already displays fabulous character with its layers of ripe blackberries, black currants, lead pencil, cedar chest, and tobacco notes. Full-bodied, round, concentrated, and with a polish to its tannins, this is already starting to come around. Drink from 2023–2050.

Bright ruby garnet colour with dark core, purple reflections, delicate watery rim. Black forest berry confit with a light tobacco background, nuances of cassis, fresh orange zest, multi-faceted bouquet. Juicy, red berry texture, vivid, integrated tannins, good freshness, racy style, mineral and taut, fine nougat in the background, will benefit from further bottle ageing, salty finish.

In the running for the greatest vintage ever from this château, the 2009 Château Lynch-Bages is pure Pauillac magic, offering a powerful bouquet of blackcurrants, freshly sharpened pencils, smoked tobacco, and gravelly earth. It's full-bodied, has a concentrated, structured mouthfeel, building yet beautifully integrated tannins, and a great, great finish. It's just now at the early stages of its prime drinking window and has another 30 years of prime drinking ahead of it. I wish I'd bought more on release.

76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot. Yield: 54 hl/ha. Deep purple-garnet. Fresh, slightly minty blackberry and cassis bouquet, elegant, direct, and already showing remarkable aromatic intensity. On the palate, super-juicy, balanced, unusually elegant and full of finesse; it gains on the mid-palate and the tannin reserves find plenty of rich flesh. A powerful Lynch-Bages that can stylistically connect both to the explosive 2000 and the denser 2005.

Silky, dense, deep, complex bouquet, cassis, noble woods, tobacco, currants. Dense, elegant, multi-layered palate with plenty of fine tannins, dense dark fruit, concentrated, varied aromatics, tight structure, very long, powerful finish. 19/20 drink - 2050

Density, power, concentration: this is a full-on Pauillac, with loads of cassis and blueberry, liquorice, espresso, cocoa bean, framed by an intense, muscular tannic structure. With precise architecture, it delivers on the promise that has been building for several years — muscular, sculpted, with willpower for decades. 70% new oak.

Slightly reduced on the nose but very broad, velvety, dense, and complex on the palate, with the sun-kissed character typical of the vintage, yet perfectly tamed by the élevage.

Dense, impressive mid-palate, tannic, with plenty of structure.

Dark, intense, youthful, and beautiful color. An intense, refined nose with ripe fruit, powerful and complex. Broad on the attack, richly unfolding, melting at mid-palate, this powerful wine develops complex flavors and velvety tannins, with plenty of taste and richness. It's superb. Blend: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Aged in 70% new barrels.

The archetype of a flamboyant Pauillac. It bursts with fruit and flavor, with a rich, broad palate, yet carried by a finish full of freshness. A real delight.

76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. 54 hl/ha. Deep purple‑garnet, dense core, lilac rim. Fresh, slightly minty blackberry and cassis bouquet—elegant, direct, and already remarkably expressive even as an en primeur sample. On the palate, super‑juicy, balanced, unusually elegant, with particularly lavish finesse; it builds on the palate and the tannin reserve is draped with plenty of rich flesh. A powerful Lynch‑Bages that stylistically links to the explosive 2000 or the denser 2005. Tasted three times. 15: Medium garnet, saturated center. Currently quite reductive yet compact; the very ripe fruit comes across sweet. The bouquet has very opulent contours and reflects the vintage’s general generosity. On the palate, extreme concentration with an almost Port‑like Cabernet sweetness in an extremely dense extract, yet with fresh aromatic streaks within. Its closed nature is a good omen and documents its enormous ageing potential. This will be the successor to the 2000. Most certainly. 20: Re‑tasted repeatedly in the meantime. Its longevity and greatness are also its handicap, as it has shut down and calls for rest. Perhaps very long decanting could be attempted. I have time and will wait patiently for its first maturity and then for its at least thirty‑year drinking window. (19/20). 20: Dark garnet‑purple with a dense core. Intense bouquet: licorice, cassis, walnut shells, cinnamon, red Peru Balm, and black peppercorns. The nose is concentrated and has evolved over the last two years exactly as one would wish for a Lynch nearing maturity. I followed the wine for about a quarter of an hour before the first sip. On the final nosing it stood—aromatically—with one leg almost in Napa Valley. On the palate it has gained in volume since our last encounters; the tannins still power along, though in a slightly toned‑down form. The flow sits between arrogant and graceful. It makes this quantum leap with ease. It’s the first time I clearly feel it has transformed into one of the very best wines of this highly popular Château. I now place it on the same century level as the 2000. The latter will take a more classic turn in the coming years. The 2009 Lynch tends rather to morph into a world‑class “addiction.” (20/20). 21: UNINHIBITED 2009!!! This Lynch‑Bages 2009 belongs in the “uninhibited” category. Or “shameless.” Once you smell it, the spell is cast! You devour this Pauillac bomb uncontrollably and greedily, almost reflexively. Surely it will gain further with additional bottle age. But there’s hardly much more it can offer—because it’s hard to imagine it getting any better! And I’m usually an incorrigible mature‑wine drinker. (20/20). 21: An insane double magnum at a wine evening at Restaurant Adelboden with Richie and René. A true 2009 juggernaut with all the bells and whistles. The nose opens its first window. On the palate it still grabs—understandably—quite firmly. I am now sure this will be/is a wine of the century. (20/20). 21: Incredibly youthful, extremely dark color, impenetrable core. The massive bouquet first shows lots of fine oak, nutty notes, hints of coffee, highly ripe fruit with prunes, stewed plums, and breakfast plums, complemented by sweet candied‑sugar notes. Power and finesse in the same second. On the palate, fleshy, balanced, astringent, muscular, delivering a phenomenal structure and ending with a powered finish. Long closed, it now gains with each new encounter. A guaranteed legendary Lynch on the long path to joining its earlier, famously great vintages. It hardly gets any better! (20/20).

95-97 Barrel sample. Concentrated and dense, the fruit here is powered by blackberry and cranberry tannins, as well as by the spicy wood. The wine is soild and firm, obviously powerful

Performing even better from bottle than it did from barrel, this appears to be the finest Lynch Bages since the 2000, 1990 and 1989. According to the chateau, the 2009 has the highest level of polyphenols ever measured as well as high alcohol (nearly 13.5%). A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest largely Merlot with touches of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it is an expressive, voluptuously textured effort with unctuosity and powerful, juicy, succulent blackberry and black currant flavors, low acids, a layered, massive mouthfeel, but no sense of heaviness or fatigue. This exquisite Lynch Bages should drink well for 30+ years.