2005 Château Lynch-Bages Pauillac Bordeaux France Wine Tasting Note
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2005
Château Lynch-Bages (Pauillac)
Tight, firm, reserved, strict and tannic, the wine remains quite youthful at this stage. Clearly there is a wealth of ripe fruit here, but the tannins need at least a decade to soften before this is fun to drink. 8,630 Views Tasted Oct 18, 2019Cigar box, tobacco, cassis and cedar notes are the first thing you notice. Ripe tannins and freshness, with good volume, richness and depth, which is still quite young. Give this at least a few hours of air, or let it age for another 8-10 years. 7,790 Views Tasted Jun 28, 2015Tight, tannic and not showing its complete array of charm and complexity, this is not a lot of fun to drink today. I'd wait at least a decade before popping a bottle. 11,243 Views Tasted Dec 3, 2012This is lighter, brighter, softer and more approachable than I expected, considering the vintage. The wine offers notes of cassis, cedar, tobacco and forest floor, finishing with cassis and blackberry flavors. For Lynch Bages, this wine should drink well younger than many top vintages. 8,649 Views Tasted Jun 20, 2008 |
When to Drink Chateau Lynch Bages, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time
Chateau Lynch Bages needs time in the cellar before it can truly be enjoyed, as the wine is quite powerful and tannic in its youth. Young vintages can be decanted for an average of 2-4 hours, or more. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.
Chateau Lynch Bages is usually better with at least 10-15 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Chateau Lynch Bages offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 15-50 years of age after the vintage.
Serving Chateau Lynch Bages with Wine, Food and Pairing Tips
Chateau Lynch Bages is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. Chateau Lynch Bages is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes.
Chateau Lynch Bages is a perfect match with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta as well as cheese.
The white wine, Blanc de Lynch-Bages is perfect for a wide variety of seafood dishes, raw and cooked, chicken, veal, pork, and of course, cheese.
The Cazes family owns vineyards in several regions outside of Bordeaux. Since 2006 the Cazes family owns vines in the Rhone Valley, in Chateauneuf du Pape they own Domaine des Senechaux and they also make wine at Domaine de L’Ostal Cazes in Minervois. They have a partnership in the Douro with the Roquette family to produce Xisto Roquette E Cazes.
Wine, food, and hospitality are not the only things the Cazes family is invested in. In 2015, Jean Michel Cazes announced he was producing beer as well. The first beer from the Cazes family Brasserie de Bages beer is aptly named "D2," which takes its name from the famous Route de Medoc highway in Bordeaux that runs north to south in the Left Bank. Three beers are being made, Le Cask, which is aged in old, used Lynch Bages barrels, and a 100% wheat beer, La Beneze.
The Cazes family is also involved in arranging for customers to produce their own wine through their company, VINIV. Customers can purchase grapes from either the Right Bank or the Left Bank, and with the help of winemakers at Chateau Lynch Bages, they can create their own custom blend and label it as they wish, provided they purchase at least one barrel, which is 25 cases of wine.
Starting with the 2015 vintage, Chateau Lynch Bages upped their technology game when they became the first estate in Bordeaux to use the "Winegrid" system. Wine grid monitors the development of the wine inside the barrel or vat, keeping track of the wine's alcohol level, sugar content, color, and ambient temperature. The technology is being developed with the help of Jean Charles Cazes.