2015 Lynch Bages

The 2015 Lynch-Bages has an intense nose of black fruit, cedar and pencil box aromas. This is muted at first but it only takes a few swirls to unleash the aromas. The palate is medium-bodied and beautifully balanced, with grainy tannins, real depth and grip. This has dispensed with some of its surliness and there is now more brightness toward the finish. The 2015 is excellent.

Slate and cocoa bean on the opening, delicious wine, soft rose petals, bilberry and cassis fruit, waves of black tea and steely tannins, great quality, not quite the depth through the mid palate of the 2014 or 2016, but this is full of Pauillac signature and will age well. 75% new oak, Daniel Llhose technical director.

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.