1990 Château Lynch-Bages

75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Aged for 15 months in oak barrels. Solid red core with a touch of brick at the rim. Some sweetness on the nose but aromatically relatively reserved. Still plenty of vigour on the palate, the tannins firm, the fruit substantial. Lovely freshness as well. Very Pauillac. Still room to develop. (JL)

The 1990 Lynch-Bages continues to drink brilliantly at age 32, bursting from the glass with rich aromas of blackberries and crème de cassis mingled with cigar wrapper, loamy soil, burning embers, nori and subtle hints of sweet leather. Full-bodied, broad and fleshy, it's unctuous and enveloping, with a generous core of fruit, sweet but still present tannins and a long, expansive finish. I have always tended to compare the 1990 and 1989 Lynch-Bages, and both wines are among the finest produced in Bordeaux in those years, embarrassing several of the first growths; if I had to choose, I'd likely opt for the 1989 for its greater depth and staying power, but the 1990 is an immensely seductive, hedonistic wine that's very hard to resist.

The 1990 Lynch-Bages has a precocious nose, utterly captivating with intense black fruit suffused with iodine and seaweed scents. There is something old school about this Lynch Bages, perhaps not quite as precise as the previous vintage, yet still multi-dimensional. It gains cohesion with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with more structure than expected. There's fine delineation with chiseled tannins. Cedar and tobacco are interwoven through the layered black fruit, and it fans out with panache on the finish. This continues to fire on all cylinders. Tasted at the château in bottle and double-magnum formats.