AOC Pauillac 2020
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From our sommelier team
A Cabernet Sauvignon-led fifth-growth Pauillac from the Cazes family, long known for delivering richness and charm well beyond its 1855 classification rank.
Lynch-Bages is a classified fifth growth (Cinquième Cru) from the 1855 Bordeaux classification, but has for decades traded and drunk at a level closer to the second or third growths — a reputation built on consistency rather than any change in official rank. The blend is Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant, typically around 75% Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a small amount of Petit Verdot filling out the remainder, drawn from roughly 100 hectares of gravel, chalk and sand soils on the Bages and Monferan plateaus in Pauillac. The wine is aged in French oak with a high proportion of new barrels (around 70%) for 12-15 months. The house style favors ripe dark fruit (cassis), savory tones of tobacco and wet earth, and firm but well-integrated tannins — powerful without being austere, which is a large part of why it built such a loyal following among drinkers rather than only collectors. A new winery completed in 2021 added extensive stainless steel vats for parcel-by-parcel vinification, reinforcing the estate's ongoing focus on precision winemaking.
Producer history
The vineyard was developed by the Dejean family and sold in 1728 to Pierre Drouillard, whose daughter Elizabeth married Thomas Lynch — an Irish-descended name that stuck to the property (Lynch Bages) even after the family's connection ended, roughly 75 years later. In the 1930s Jean-Charles Cazes began leasing the vines from owner Félix de Vial, buying the estate outright in 1938. His son André Cazes later took over the estate, expanding the vineyard with neighboring parcels (Château Haut-Bages-Avérous, Château Saussus) and replanting land left fallow after phylloxera. Jean-Michel Cazes joined his father in 1973 and led the estate's modern rise in reputation; his son Jean-Charles Cazes took over management in 2007. The property has remained continuously in Cazes family hands since the 1930s, unusual longevity for a Bordeaux classified growth.
Signature pairings
- Grilled ribeye steak — The wine's ripe cassis fruit and firm tannin structure are built for the char and fat of a well-marbled grilled steak, a classic Pauillac pairing.
- Lamb rack with herbs — Cabernet Sauvignon-led Pauillac and lamb is a long-standing regional pairing; the wine's tobacco and earth tones complement herb-crusted lamb without competing.
- Aged Gouda or hard cheddar — A firm-tannin structured red needs a hard, aged cheese with enough fat and savory depth to soften the grip; soft or blue cheeses would clash.
The 2020 vintage marks a literal new chapter: it is the first wine vinified in the gravity-flow winery designed by Chien Chung 'Didi' Pei, completed that same year — a deliberate architectural investment by the Cazes family to eliminate pump-handling at every stage of production. That decision is inseparable from what's in the glass.
The vines sit on the Bages plateau, south-southwest of Pauillac town, where deep Garonne gravel — deposited over millennia by Pyrenean erosion — drains freely over a limestone sub-strata. The Gironde estuary acts as a thermal buffer, moderating the oceanic climate and enabling the late-harvest ripeness that has defined the house since Jean-Michel Cazes's modernisation programme from 1975.
Fermentation proceeds parcel-by-parcel across 200 sub-parcels in 80 temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats, with malolactic split one-third in vat, two-thirds in barrel. Aging runs 15–18 months in French oak barriques at 75% new oak, monitored via the Winegrid in-barrel system — a real-time alcohol, sugar, colour, and temperature tracker Lynch-Bages pioneered as the first Bordeaux estate to deploy it from 2015.
A Fifth Growth that consistently trades at Second Growth prices, the 2020 delivers sun-ripened concentration with notably fresh acidity and tannin density matching the 2018 and 2019 in structure. Drink from 2027 through 2045.
Details
- Country
- France
- Region
- Bordeaux
- Subregion
- Pauillac
- Variety
- Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot
- Vintage
- 2020 **
- Bottle size
- 750 ml
** Vintage may change — please confirm with our team before ordering.
Taste profile
- Body
- Full
- Acidity
- Medium-High
- Tannin
- High
Pairs well with
- Lamb dishes
- Cured meats & charcuterie
- Duck & game birds
- Game meats
- Hard & aged cheese
Sommelier’s pick: Rack of lamb with rosemary and black olive tapenade · Dry-aged côte de bœuf with bone marrow butter · Duck breast with Périgueux truffle sauce
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