2009 シャトー・ランシュ=バージュ、ポイヤック

Density, power, concentration, this is a full on Pauillac, with a ton of cassis and blueberry, liquorice, espresso, cocoa bean, with an intense muscular tannic frame. Precise architecture, it delivers on the promise that has been building for several years - muscular, ripped, will power for decades. 70% new oak.

76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Aged for 15 months in oak barrels (70% new). Big, deep, black colour. Reserved but generous nose that shows considerable depth. Svelte attack, the tannins powerful but refined and enrobed in succulent fruit. Seductive now but still very much a baby. A complete wine with huge potential.

The medium to deep garnet colored 2009 Lynch Bages is boldly scented of crème de cassis, blackberry pie and baked plums with chocolate box, incense and underbrush suggestions plus a waft of bay leaves. Medium to full-bodied, taut and well sustained in the mouth, it has a firm, grainy texture and a lively backbone lifting the black fruit core to a nice long finish.

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)

The 2009 Lynch-Bages is very well defined on the nose, yet powerful with ample fruit to spare: blackberry, wild strawberry, cranberry mixed with cedar and a light mint touch. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity and lightly spiced with superb focus. It exerts a gentle grip from start to finish, then delivers an engaging, spicy finish that lingers in the mouth. Excellent. Tasted at the Lynch Bages vertical at the château.

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.