Cru Wine in the Vines #1: Lynch Bages and Pontet-Canet
Our local Bordeaux team had the privilege to visit two famous Pauillac estates this week: Lynch Bages and Pontet-Canet.
On the 25th of May, our local team in Bordeaux visited two of the most prestigious estates in Pauillac which have equally incredible stories to tell. Chateau Lynch Bages welcomed us in the morning for an exclusive visit of their brand new facilities: a 4-year project led by the famous architect Chien Chung “Didi” Pei, son of the creator of the Louvre Pyramid In Paris.
Not only is this new art piece beautiful, it is also a wonderful winemaking tool for the team to work with – made to be fully autonomous in energy and cooling, with twice the amount of steel vats compared to the previous facility, the goal of such a masterpiece is to achieve perfection in terms of precision and technical possibilities.
“The aim of such a project is not to create a fancy showroom – we want this place to be the perfect winemaking tool for our team” said Charles Thuillier , deputy director of the estate.
Tasting the wines was also a great experience as we had the privilege to taste Les Ormes de Pez, Lynch Bages, Echo de Lynch Bages, Haut-Batailley, Verso de Haut-Batailley and the unique Lynch Bages Blanc from the 2020 vintage.
Les Ormes de Pez is probably the more surprising wine out of that range as it already offers great balance and drinkability at such a young stage, not common for Saint-Estephe wine which usually needs time to showcase its unique personality and complexity: a must buy!
Chateau Haut-Batailley and their new second label called “Verso” were also very fresh and offered great drinkability for EP wines – probably due to alcohol levels being fairly low and great grape maturity when picking: both great wines, an estate to look out for now that it has been purchased by the Cazes family.
Lynch Bages and their second wine ECHO are both typical of the estate: very classic, powerful and impressive in texture. A wine that will age gracefully for decades due to its perfect balance and structure. Echo is also in the same category, with a silky texture and great length, it is always impressive to see how this “second” label performs every year.
Lynch Bages Blanc is an immense white wine which is comparable to wines produced in regions more famous for their white wine.
Unfortunately due to its small production it makes it hard to get our hands on it, but it is without doubt one of the best white wines of the Medoc!
We then had the chance to visit Chateau Pontet-Canet with Violaine Figon, their lovely tour guide who always welcomes us with a big smile and great professionalism!
The originality of Pontet-Canet lies in its method of cultivation, and in its winemaking techniques about which Violaine speaks with enthusiasm. She willingly quotes the strategist, the inventor of many machines and other tools set up at the domain: Jean-Michel Comme, the manager of Pontet-Canet, who unfortunately left the estate a year ago.
He introduced new winemaking techniques to achieve an impossible dream: to transform an 85 hectares Grand Cru of Pauillac into a fully biodynamic estate, today certified with both Demeter and Biodyvin labels!
Words can’t describe how deeply involved the estate is with organic farming; from using horses to cultivate half of the estate, to home-made preparations to heal the grapes, they are aiming to be as respectful as possible of the unique terroir that they have been given.
All of these new decisions and improvements have led to the best growth in wine quality that you can see in the region over the last 15 years and tasting the 2020 vintage has confirmed our thoughts.
Pontet Canet 2020 shows an incredible depth and texture, with precision and explosive aromas. This wine is the perfect expression of what Pontet-Canet can deliver, even in challenging years where their team had to be extra-vigilant to avoid diseases threatened by rain and low temperatures.
The Cru Wine Team wants to thank Chateau Lynch Bages and Pontet Canet for their great hospitality and we wish them a great EP 2020 season!
It’s great to hear that these top performing wine makers are so involved in making their products as eco-friendly as possible.
It’s great to hear that these top performing wine makers are so involved in making their products as eco-friendly as possible.