1961 Château Lynch-Bages, Pauillac

🍇 70% Cabernet Sauvignon – 20% Merlot – 10% Cabernet Franc (typical estate blend)
📅 Vintage: 1961
📍 Bordeaux – Pauillac (Fifth Growth, 1855 Classification)
⭐ Robert Parker WA: 94 | Jancis Robinson JR: 18/20 | Michael Broadbent: ★★★★
📦 2 x 37.5 cl (Half Bottles)
⏳ Maturity: Fully mature; drink now – 2027 (for half-bottle format)

📅 The Vintage – 1961: Bordeaux Legend

The 1961 vintage is widely considered one of the finest of the 20th century. A small-yielding crop (due to severe spring frosts) followed by an ideal growing season resulted in intensely concentrated, structured wines with astounding longevity.

In Pauillac, producers benefited from both density of fruit and lifted aromatics—and Lynch-Bages was among the stars that year, crafting a wine still alive with complexity.

👃 Tasting Notes 

👁 Appearance:

Amber-ruby core fading to a pale brick rim; translucent, with soft glints and slow, graceful legs.

👃 Nose:

A mature, Pauillac perfume: dried cassis, leather-bound books, pencil shavings, cedar chest, and truffle. Subtle hints of milled spice, cigar ash, dried thyme, and forest undergrowth layer in gracefully.

👄 Palate:

Refined and medium-bodied, with tannins that have softened into silky structure. Flavors of dried plum, graphite, stewed blackcurrant, and cold hearth—an echo of its youth. The finish is gently tapering, earthy, and noble, with just enough acidity to lift the experience.

🍽️ Pairing:

Pairs gracefully with roast pigeon, duck à l’orange, or truffled veal sweetbreads. Excellent alongside aged hard cheeses such as Ossau-Iraty or aged Manchego.

🏰 The Estate – Château Lynch-Bages

Located on the Bages plateau in Pauillac, Château Lynch-Bages may hold a Fifth Growth status by classification, but it has long punched above its weight—a cult favorite among Bordeaux lovers for its muscular style, approachability, and value in great vintages.

Under the stewardship of Jean-Michel Cazes and now Jean-Charles Cazes, the estate has become a benchmark for modern Pauillac with a classic soul—known for wines that age gracefully for 30+ years in top vintages.

🏆 Awards & Critics

• Robert Parker – Wine Advocate: 94/100
  “Fully mature but still lively, offering classic Pauillac character in spades—cedar, cassis, graphite.”

• Jancis Robinson – JR: 18/20
  “Graceful and very much alive. Elegant rather than powerful now.”

• Michael Broadbent: ★★★★
  “Long life. Mellow, complex, aromatic—tasted beautifully at over 40 years.”

🖋️ Final Impressions – Signature & Emotion

This set of two half bottles of 1961 Lynch-Bages is a piece of Bordeaux’s golden legacy in a truly rare and collectible format. Perfect for those who want to experience mature Pauillac without opening a full bottle—each half-bottle offering its own quiet moment of reflection.

Best served at 16–17°C with a gentle 15-minute decant. Enjoy soon—within the next 12–24 months—while the wine still hums with the voice of 1961.

This is not just wine—this is a time capsule, bottled twice.