This is hugely impressive right from the off - strap on your walking boots, get your crampons at the ready, there is a wall to climb - not one that you ever hit by the way, because contrary to expectations this unfurls slowly, keeping the peak just out of sight. 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. Drink 2026 - 2040. 97 points

72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot; 75% new oak. pH 3.66. Black core. Spicy, intense cassis nose. Imposing grip in the tannins holding everything prisoner at the moment but they are compact and dense rather than tough. Chewy, dense, powerful and `masculine`. Highly structured and muscular but well balanced. Not a charmer but finely built in its power. 17 points

The 2018 Lynch Bages is made up of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot aging in 75% new barriques. Very deep purple-black in color, the nose is quite coy and restrained to begin, fanning out to offer pure, ripe blackcurrants, black cherries and preserved plums with wafts of red roses, cigar box, incense, cardamom and fenugreek with savory touches of black olives, Marmite toast and smoked meats. Full-bodied, the palate is built like a brick house, with a solid foundation of very firm, very ripe, grainy tannins and superb freshness supporting the generous black fruit layers, finishing long with provocative ferrous suggestions. 96-98 points

The 2018 Lynch-Bages is a potent, racy wine endowed with real textural depth and intensity. Even so, it retains terrific nuance and vibrancy. All the classic Lynch-Bages signatures are present, but amped up, with huge tannins and equally huge fruit. The 2018 is going to need at least a few years to shed some of its baby fat. Today, it is decidedly rich and unctuous in style. Rose petal, lavender, mint and sweet spice add striking layers of aromatic nuance. The blend is 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. 93-96 points

Here we have a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. The alcohol level is declared as 14%. It presents a really enticing nose, with an array of dark and grilled fruits, grilled red cherry in particular, with an overlay of toasted and tobacco-tinged oak. The palate is fresh, pure, broad and cool, with a very complete poise, carrying a fine and tightly-knit bed of tannins, along with a wealth of dark and grilled fruits, all looking very harmonious, complete and poised. A bold and polished style, but one that is simply brimming with grip and substance and this comes through on the finish which is loaded with tannin, fading slowly over a minute or two. Great potential here. The élevage is in 75% new oak, for 18 months. 94-96 points