Lynch Bages 1990

[Comte Flaneur]

After a lot of hand wringing I decided we should drink this last night with lamb chops. It was my last bottle.

It had a real perfumed nose and a surprisingly metallic attack initially. Then it had lashings of saddle leather and horseshit. No farting around with this wine then. On the palate it was scrumptious and mouthfilling, quite full-bodied, low in acidity and somewhat disjointed, clumsy, ill-disciplined and unfocused. It is quite soft but the big tannins will keep it going for many years. I think the 1989 is probably the better wine but it is quite similar. It is a bit of a hooligan like the 1989 but you gotta love it. A hugely enjoyable wine even though it lacks finesse in more elevated company (as did the 89 on Oct 18).

As a footnote we also opened a Agostina Pieri Brunello Di Montalcino 1999 and it was remarkably similar wine in many ways and while not as hedonistic as the Lynch it was not an inferior wine.

[Rick]

It is often sad to open opens last bottle.

rick

[JimHow]

Someday we will sit down with Ian and a few bottles of lynch Bages, rick, and we will educate him on the wonders of the finest Bordeaux of the past fifty years, when we can just focus on the wine, and he's not distracted by Haut Brion or La Mission, Lynch is almost an acquired taste, like opera or baseball, when you "understand" it you see beauty that is not always evident immediately to the common man....

[Rick]

LOL

I decided not to comment on someone comparing a 90 to an 89 Lynch ??

rick

[JimHow]

I wish you were there a few weeks ago on the east side, Rick, when i was shouted down by the mob of thugs at the '89 tasting. Only Jacques stood up for me, and Gail sort of, it was a sad sad night, they were completely blinded by Parker points....

[Rick]

Kathy says she would pepper sprayed them

rick

[JimHow]

Oh man, right, Kathy, my secret weapon.... If only I had Kate there!!

[Comte Flaneur]

Jim is still going through the Kubler-Ross grief cycle after October 18 when even the Baron showed his Dear Lynch a clean set of heels...

[JimHow]

The Baron/Lynch vote was by the same group that shouted down a free discussion of ideas, it has about as much validity as the recent Afghan elections....

[jal]

The Baron/Lynch vote was by the same group that shouted down a free discussion of ideas, it has about as much validity as the recent Afghan elections....

Rotflmao

[DavidG]

And that would make Jim, as a stand-in for the '89 LB that was once loved but now passed over by the masses, yet still trying to fudge the vote, the Hamid Karzai character?

[JimHow]

It will forever be known as "The East Side Incident", when an attempted beer hall putsch sought to bring down the mighty Lynch.
I keep my enemies close to me, though, and I have a list. How many were at the dinner? Twelve? I'll exclude Jacques of course, and Gail I guess, she at least made an attempt at democracy, even though she ended up voting with the thugs. And I'm excluded of course, so that leaves what, nine?
The Gang of Nine.
Yeah, that's it:
The Gang of Nine, led by Tommy "The Hit Man" Wheltle and David "Mad Dog" Glasser.
And as for Jill, well, I have only one word: Traitor.
That one hurt, i was working on her all evening, I was sure I had her unconditional support.
Like her husband, she could have been a revolutionary hero.
But instead, she will be forever branded in infamy as part of The Gang of Nine.
The Gang of Nine thugs will forever be branded in BWE infamy for their attempted but failed coup.
Long live the Benevolent Dictator!
Long live BWE!

[Tom In DC]

It's not often that I've been accused of thuggery, but as the slur comes from the lips of an effete Down East "could'a been a contendah" politico, I guess I'll wear this censure as a badge of honor.

[JimHow]

Wow, I try to bring a little dignity to this site, and that's the thanks I get.
I think we will have to have one last no-holds-barred blind tasting involving the '89 Lynch to commemorate the BWE ten year anniversary in Chicago, and then I will retire my fighter while he is still on top....

[stefan]

>>
I will retire my fighter while he is still on top.
>>

The revisionist history of the BD continues.

stefan

[DavidG]

Ooooh, a bunch of us are now on Jim's "enemies" list! How positively Nixonian. Leave it to those politicians. Next thing you know, he'll be serving us plonk while secretly sipping from an under-the-table bottle of Margaux...

[JimHow]

I just have to ask one question:

The saintly Gail Wheltle-- as nice and honest a person as you will ever meet-- wife of "The Hit Man" himself-- even Gail asked simply that I be allowed to speak....

Was that too much to ask....?

What was there to be afraid of...?

I'm just a country lawyer from Maine....

All I wanted was a few words on behalf of my beloved Lynch Bages... the "Poor Man's Mouton"... after all the time and effort I've put in on behalf of BWE over the past ten years...

A full third of my adult life...

Even the good and honest Gail Wheltle saw that was the right thing to do....

I'm just an honest man, trying to get by like everyone else, maybe a little tired now as I enter into the second half of my life....

Just trying to make an honest point about a wine that I love....

But no...

I was shouted down by a bunch of thugs....

A sad, sad night in the history of Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts...

Not even the mighty Stefan-- the old giant of BWE-- that Odysseus of Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts, with whom I have shared many a classic Medoc over the years....

Not even the mighty Stefan himself could rise to the defense of the honor of BWE...

Yet, the humble Gail... eloquent in her defense of speech that is truly free... stood up to protest....

Alas, to no avail....

Only to be rudely thrust aside by the angry Graves-crazed mob...

Let me ask this question....

What were you among the Gang of Nine so afraid of...?

????

[stefan]

Gosh, that is almost as nice as Nixon's defense of Agnew!

stefan

[DavidG]

Thugs? Harumph!

What were we afraid of, Sir?

Well, we have seen you at work before, Sir. We have all heard the "just a country lawyer" homily from you before, Sir. Except for maybe the "good and honest Gail" - whom we knew to under your spell. And we knew that was a sure sign, a flashing neon sign, a "Danger Will Robinson!" sign, to be afraid. To be very afraid of the smooth talking snake who could con a good and honest pensioner out of her pension let alone her vote, the Beast from Down East who could have the likes of James Suckling cowering in the face of his vicousness, the false prophet who could, if he wanted to, even convince AlexR that Parker is, if not God, at least the infallible Pope of Wine.

Of course, there is also the Keystone Cops side of you, Sir. The part of you that can stage a successful ballot-stuffing...

...for the wrong candidate.

But that was not a chance we could take, Sir. Yes, we were afraid. We were very afraid. And we did something about it. To the benefit of all truly good and honest BWEs, who saw the Emperor for what he really was rather than what his silver-tongued mouthpiece wanted us to see.

[JimHow]

As I have explained numerous times, David, the Lynch at DC '09 was so good that I thought it was the '82 Lalande.
Even I couldn't believe the Lynch was that much better than the RMP100 Lalande and the other wines.
The glass of '89 Lynch that I had was by far the best wine of the night. Ask Blanquito.
That's why I'm wondering whether there might have been some bottle variation between the two bottles.
Or perhaps sabotage? I mean, after all, there were several members of the Gang of Nine present in the room that evening....

[Blanquito]

FWIW, the 1989 Lynch gave the 82 P. Lalande a run for the money in BWE DC '09 in my blind tasting notes. Of course, the '59 Suduirait was in a league of it's own, but that's apples to noble rot.

[Blanquito]

It's true, my last sip of what turned out to be the '89 Lynch was my best red sip of the night. Before that sip (possibility dubious, since it WAS from Jim's glass), I was torn between the lalande and the lynch.

We need to taste these two wines head to head from a full bottle some time, Jim!

[Blanquito]

Actually, thinking about it, that Lynch sip came from David's glass.

[JimHow]

I agree, blanquito.
And in all seriousness, I think there are a couple aspects about the '89 Lynch that are pretty evident to me and perhaps contribute to some of the controversy:
1. I do think there is some bottle variation in the Lynch, perhaps more than other wines. Some bottles are sublime-- "best wine in the past fifty years"-- others seem a bit tired.
2. I also think the wine evolves significantly with air. The Lynch we had at Tom and Gail's house at DC '07 was very different a couple hours after it was sucker-punched by the '88 VCC.

[DavidG]

Well, Patrick, that last sip was AFTER the reveal, no?

Jim, if you're going to get "in all seriousness" on us, what fun is that? I know, I know what happened, but I just can't resist the temptation to bust your chops about it all over again. All in fun of course. And especially when you get on that soapbox. Yes there is bottle variation in any 20 year old wine. And the '89 Lynch is a wonderful wonderful wine. I just got a couple of bottles of the '90 from Glenn, so we'll need to do an '89/'90 Lynch comparison sometime.

But rest assured that I will always be ready to respond to that "simple country lawyer" talk...

[JimHow]

I know my palate isn't as fine as yours or the Gang of Nine or your condescending friends over on the Squires site, David, but I'm a true believer in the greatness of the 1989 Lynch Bages. It is more than a mere great Pauillac, it is a transcendent wine.

As for busting people's chops, what is that saying, it is the insecure who feel the need to make fun of other people.

Myself, I'm just a simple country lawyer, I'm comfortable in my own shoes, I know what I like and don't like, don't take myself too seriously, certainly not in the realm of wine blogging....

[Nicklasss]

Back to the 1990 Chateau Lynch Bages, this is what I thought about the wine, last September : 1990 Chateau Lynch Bages was a nice match. This is an excellent Bordeaux, but the 1990 character is an evidence in that wine. Color was dark red. Nose was complex, with a roasted character, nice blackcurrants, spices, soft sweet tobacco, oak vanilla, dark berries and more roasted almonds. In mouth, this is nicely done, with nice concentration. Attack on roasted dark berries, nice cassis, still lots of oaky spices and sweet vanilla, some plums. Super ripe tanin and a long perfumed final. All in all, a great wine, but I think I like more the ''extra austerity and classicism'' of the 1989. But a great wine anyhow. TN : 93+. I think that wine has still lots of years ahead.

And, you can all try to downgrade the 1989 Lynch Bages, but Jimhow is just blind by that wine, like a forever new love, loosing all judgement, common sense and any logical function...

Nic

[DavidG]

Yeah, Nic, but '89 Lynch is not a bad wine to lose all perspective over. Just don't let Jim hear that - it wouldn't fit with my condescending image, and I don't want him to think he's got me fooled with that simple country lawyer hoo-ha...