The 2015 Lynch-Bages has a very complex bouquet with layers of blackberry and bilberry fruit, crushed stone, cedar and graphite. It becomes earthier with aeration, with a hint of cough candy in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins. This is intense, backward, almost surly, yet the finish has incredible precision and persistence. Not to be underrated. Tasted at the Lynch-Bages vertical at the château.
96 points, Neal Martin, Vinous (Jul 2023)
This vintage was ideal for the rich style that this estate has made its own. This wine is full bodied and ripe with black-currant and dark berry fruits. The tannins fall into the cushioned wine with ease and richness. Of course, the wine should be aged, so wait until 2026.
96 points, Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast (Feb 2018)
Brambly and attractive ripe blackberries and red-plum aromas with some floral accents, too. The palate has a very plush, polished and regal shape as tannins frame up a core of ripe black fruit. Succulent, impressive finish. Best from 2022.
95 points, James Suckling (Feb 2018)
The inky colored 2015 Château Lynch-Bages is a seriously impressive Pauillac that’s up with the crème de la crème of the appellation in 2015. Notes of ripe blackcurrants, caramelized cherries, tobacco leaf and a kiss of lead pencil all emerge from this textbook Pauillac that has medium to full-bodied richness, notable concentration, and building structure. Made from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that saw 75% new barrels, it needs 5-7 years of cellaring and will be one of the longer-lived wines from the Médoc.
94+ points, Jeb Dunnuck (Nov 2017)
This has an ample core of plum, fig and blackberry compote flavors, underlined liberally with graphite and smoldering tobacco notes. Fleshy and focused, with ample grip through the juniper- and tar-accented finish. Well-built. Best from 2023 through 2038.
94 points, James Molesworth, Wine Spectator (Mar 2018)
Excellent quality, but a little less depth through the mid palate than the 2014 or 2016 - making it one of the rare wines where the 2015 vintage is not beating out the 2014 in a vertical. Could simply be that it is closed down right now, as those Pauillac tannins can be pretty fierce in the early days. Certainly as it opens the texture deepens and widens, and you find coils of bilberry and raspberry fruits with waves of smoked earth, sage and saffron spice. 75% new oak.
94 points, Jane Anson (Apr 2022)