(98+ points) One of the finest vintages I've ever tasted from this address, the 2018 Château Lynch-Bages has everything you look for in a great wine: incredible aromatics, richness without weight, perfect balance, and a purity of fruit that's just about off the charts. Dense purple, it reveals a glorious perfume of blackcurrants and blackberry fruits, a deep, unctuous mouthfeel, building tannins, and a complex array of cedar pencil, tobacco, wood smoke, and chocolate. A true blockbuster in every sense, with masses of fruit and tannins as well as moderate acidity, it will probably merit a triple-digit score in a decade and is a 50+-year wine from this team.

Aromas of blackberries, cloves, licorice, dried leaves, graphite and black olives. It’s full-bodied with firm, tight tannins. Structured and tannic with beautiful austerity and a long, mineral and layered finish. The tannins grow on the palate. Try from 2026.

Deep and dark in color, the wine exudes crème de cassis, blackberry, black cherry liqueur, BBQ smoke, Cuban cigars and a background note of roses. On the palate, you find richness, round, juicy, multi-layered essences of rocks, stones, earth and lusciously textured, ripe, succulent fruits. The wine liberally coats your palate with layer after layer of sweet berries that hang with you for at least 50 seconds. With a decade of aging this will clearly be one of the top vintages of Lynch Bages ever produced! And considering their crack record, that is really saying something. The wine blends 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, 14.1 ABV. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/search-wine-tasting-notes/?szSearch=2018+Lynch+Bages+

The 2018 Lynch-Bages is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a lot of swirling before classic notes of cassis, cedar chest, and warm plums emerge, leading to nuances of violets, star anise, unsmoked cigars, cardamom, and wood smoke. Full-bodied, dense, muscular and built like a brick house, it has a rock-solid frame of ripe, grainy tannins and amazing tension, finishing very long with lots of mineral sparks. Needs a good five years, then stand back when you open the bottle and enjoy the fireworks!

Vibrant, with a violet and cassis lead-in that then expands to include steeped black cherry and plum fruit as well as extra savory, iron and licorice root notes. Nice latent grip too, with a mouthwatering tug of earth at the very end. The fruit is so vibrant, it's a tease now, but there's structure here for the long haul, so be patient. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2040. — J.M.

Gorgeous floral aromatics, violets alongside cherry stones and cinnamon. Grippy tannins set the tone straight away, this is a serious and impressive wine with a powerful texture and concentration of ripe fruits, bitter dark cocoa powder, dried herbs and soft spices that dominate the palate. Grippy tannins have a chalky minerality that coats the entire mouth while acidity keeps things lifted stopping things becoming too heavy or overwhelming. This is muscular - still with some tension - yet retains a sense of direction and precision. A confident bottling with brilliant ageing potential. It’s great quality and one of my favourites from this property because it’s full of power but with a caress, so much tannic power too and yet so light of foot. It’s filled with absolutely delicious black chocolate, rosemary, cardamom and pepper but also lets the light in thanks for a fresh core running through. Having tasted it a few times it’s clear it’s going to age extremely well. A yield of 38hl/ha. Read more at https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/france/bordeaux/chateau-lynch-bages-pauillac-5eme-cru-classe-2018-29267#h9rBUY1eEOpTOPkI.99

Plum, damson, with a touch of gunsmoke reduction on the first nose, rich and nuanced in colour and aromatics. Pure chiselled cassis and blackberry fruits as it opens, with cocia bean, sage, cardarmon, grilled cedar, smoked earth and crayon, widening through the mid palate to reveal a creamy texture. Exuberant in character, plenty of vintage signature. A yield of 38hl/ha, 75% new oak.

Composed of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2018 Lynch-Bages was aged in 75% new barriques. Deep garnet-purple in color, it soars out of the glass with a magnificently expressive nose of blueberry compote, black cherry preserves and blackcurrant pastilles, plus suggestions of dark chocolate, licorice, tar and violets with a waft of hoisin. The medium to full-bodied palate is just as impactful as the nose, coating the mouth with juicy black berry and spicy layers, supported by firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long with a refreshing earthiness coming through at the end. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

The 2018 Lynch-Bages has a decadent bouquet, sexy almost, with luxurious black and blueberry fruit, a touch of glycerine that develops with aeration. The palate is dense and powerful with lush black cherry, blueberry and plenty of vanillary notes. Silky in texture, there is wonderful weight and poise on the finish, but it clearly needs many years in bottle. Tasted at the Lynch-Bages vertical at the château. -- Neal Martin

The Lynch-Bages style is unmistakeable in this wine's richness and the density of its structure and tannins. In addition it conveys a great sense of style, restrained power and opulence. Drink this wine from 2027. - Roger Voss