2004 Lynch Bages
By Chateau Lynch Bages
2004 Lynch Bages from Chateau Lynch Bages, Pauillac, Bordeaux
The distinguished 2004 vintage of Lynch Bages from Chateau Lynch Bages presents a study in resilience and elegance amidst a season of meteorological whims. This particular year nestles within an often underestimated chapter of Bordeaux's storied viticultural narrative. Poised between the critically acclaimed 2003 and 2005 vintages, it offers a superb expression of what prudent winemaking can achieve in less heralded years.
Savouring the Subtleties: The Hallmark of 2004 Lynch Bages
The 2004 Lynch Bages is emblematic of the tenacity of Pauillac's terroir. A temperate summer graced with just enough warmth and sunlight fostered an environment that ushered the Cabernet Sauvignon to its quintessential best. This vintage whispers its own quiet confidence, proffering a balanced symphony of flavours without the omnipotent heat that characterizes its immediate neighbours in the vertical.
Worthy of remark is its matured poise; cassis and blackberry essences woven subtlety with cedar and tobacco – a patrician complex delivered by time's tender passage. What sets this particular vintage apart is not just the longevity, but its journey to peaks quite unanticipated by initial forecasts, still holding fort with tannins that assert their presence with finesse.
An Astute Acquisition for the Discerning Investor
In terms of wine investment, the 2004 Lynch Bages poses as a shrewd addition to any seasoned portfolio. The allure here lies not merely in its charming drinkability now but also in its lingering promise for the future. It represents a judicious crossroads between value and pleasure.
In my four decades amongst vines and vintage chronicles, I have encountered wines that scream for immediate attention and those that humbly wait their turn. The 2004 Lynch Bages belongs distinctly to the latter category – assuring appreciation for those both patient and wise enough to invest in its understated splendour.
Current market price
£1,200.00
12x75cl
Highest score
92
POP score
100
Scores and tasting notes
Ex-cellar bottle tasted blind at the Lynch Bages vertical. This has a noticeably clear, deep garnet colour. The nose is very clean and correct although it lacks a little complexity and flair: straightforward black fruits, cedar and pencil shavings. The medium-bodied palate shows a little hardness at first, but softens with aeration and soon adopts a more succulent texture with ripe black cherries, Doris plum and bilberry. Certainly this is a well balanced Pauillac packed full of ripe tannins with a crisp poised finish of black plum, cedar and cassis. Although it does not have the length of the 2005, nor indeed the 2006, it is a very confident, expressive wine for the vintage. Drink 2011-2020+ Tasted September 2009.
Neal Martin - Wine Journal Mar 2010
Evolving quickly, the dark plum/garnet-colored 2004 reveals notes of tobacco leaf, forest floor, black fruits, new saddle leather, licorice and earth, good, rather than great, depth of fruit and medium body. Drink this mid-weight effort over the next 10-15 years.
Robert Parker Jr - The Wine Advocate, 30 August 2011