Among a certain generation Chateau Lynch-Bages used to be known affectionately as `lunch bags` on the grounds that it was cheap enough to go in one`s lunch bag. While it is no longer quite that cheap, it is still cracking good value for a fifth-growth property that annually outperforms many officially much higher ranked wines.

In fact, Lynch-Bages is one of those chateaux that captures how out-of-date some aspects of the 1855 classification have become. This is a fifth-growth that in some vintages is said to have challenged the firsts. It is also quintessentially Pauillac, with a high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon and all the gravel, smoke, cedar and cassis one expects in an absolutely classic left-bank Claret.

So if the origin of the name is not actually in our lunch bag, where does it come from? The area Lynch-Bages comes from was once known as Batges, and in the 18th century a canny Irishman by the name of Thomas Lynch married the Batges heiress. Henceforward, though the property was to pass through many different hands before arriving under the present ownership, it would always be Lynch-Bages. (NT 16/03/15)