One of the clear standouts where the fruit has real depth and is laced with black chocolate, liquorice, cassis as well as cassis bud. Cabernet dominant, will some angularity to the tannins but this is high quality, and has a floral lift and juiciness to it. A food vintage, because acidities are pretty high, but this delivers one of the best wines of Pauillac. New optical sorter used this year. 65% new oak, 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 66% of production in the first wine.

Young, poised black fruits, blackberry and bilberry that are ripe but still laced with fresh acidities, giving a slight angularity to the tannins. This is good quaility, with signature Lynch Bages confidence, but does not expand through the palate as the vintages on either side do, holding itself back. I suggest waiting for another few years before drinking to really allow things to soften up. 65% new oak, with an optical sorter used for the first time in this vintage, and 65% of overall production making it into the 1st wine.

This is a luxurious wine that’s opulently rich. Ripe black fruits dominate, lending fullness to the firm structure in the backdrop. It’s a wine with great potential, density and weight. Touches of chocolate and licorice combine with flavors of dark plum, toast and spice. Drink from 2018.

72% cabernet sauvignon 23% merlot 3% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. 100 hectare estate on gravelly soils. Aged in 79% new French oak. Opaque at the core with a deep purple rim. Incredibly primary and closed in its current state with a very shy nose of red cherry cedar coffee and a touch of toasty oak. The palate offers vibrant (if slightly off-balance) acidity and fruit-driven flavors of red cherry currant and plum. Good length on the finish. A bit disjointed in its current state this will hopefully come together in time. Enjoy 2017-2030.

(NM90-92 points) The 2011 Lynch Bages is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot raised in 75% new oak. It has an elegant, understated bouquet compared to its peers, with pure blackberry and cedar aromas, linear and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a gentle but firm grip, with a harmonious crisp quintessential Pauillac finish with graphite lingering on the aftertaste. This is a stylish Lynch Bages, one born to be drunk and enjoyed.

The 2011 Lynch-Bages has a well-defined nose with tightly-wound black fruit laced with mint and graphite. This certainly needs time in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, fleshy tannins. It's open and generous with black cherries, wild strawberries and touches of orange rind. There's good substance, and it's fleshy on the finish. The 2011 is quite a delicious Lynch Bages. Tasted at the Lynch Bages vertical at the château. -- Neal Martin

This has solid guts, with plum, currant and blackberry fruit melded together at the core, while notes of charcoal, warm tobacco and singed iron form the backdrop. Should be very solid when it comes together after some cellaring. Best from 2016 through 2028. –JM