All roads lead to... Pauillac. (Part 1: Château Lynch-Bages)



I was lucky enough to score a private tour of Château Lynch-Bages during my visit to Bordeaux earlier this summer. (Thank you to the Twitter-friendly staff who handle their marketing!) This Pauillac icon has been producing wine since the mid-eighteenth century and was classified as one of the 18 fifth growths in the Bordeaux classification of 1855.


The Château has passed through several families since then, but has now been in the Cazes family since 1938. When visiting the Bordeaux area, it’s easy to be impressed by the ultra-modern technology, the shiny wine cellars and sparkling new vat rooms, but what impressed me most about Lynch-Bages was their devotion to preserving and celebrating the past. They’ve dedicated plenty of prime Pauillac real estate to creating a museum on their property to house their old equipment and share the winemaking stories and traditions of past generations. Their old press, sorting table and vats teach us an important wine history lesson, one that is forgotten in some of the other famous Châteaux of the area.

The museum at Lynch-Bages

The museum at Lynch-Bages

The museum at Lynch-Bages

Its well-drained gravel soil and close proximity to the Gironde Estuary helps make the eponymous Château Lynch-Bages a truly enjoyable, bold and unique wine. While we know 2007 was a moody vintage, I found Château Lynch-Bages soft, velvety, balanced and ready to drink. (Decant before serving.)

The 2007 vintage

The gravely terroir

The vineyards with the Gironde Estuary in the background

If you’re in the area and can’t get a reservation for the Château, stop by the adjacent village of Bages with its quaint café and boutique. It’s a must-visit, even if just for a cheeky glass or three… Cheers!

The village of Bages

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