TNs: 99 Lynch Bages, 98 l'Evangile

[jal]

At Union Square Cafe in Manhattan with some friends yesterday, we took advantage of the $25 a bottle corkage and brought these two bottles to accompany a nice dinner.

1999 Lynch Bages; The wine is just ok, nothing spectacular. Pretty tasty but watered down, not a lot of fruit flavor, no acidity to stand up to the food, no mid palate and no structure to speak of. A nice quaffing wine but not more than that.

1998 l'Evangile; Now that is much better, it starts very astringent and bitter but thirty minutes in a decanter are enough for the wine to blossom. Wonderful nose, great mouth filling texture, balanced, bright, and structured with great depth and layers of flavors. Fantastic wine, will last years longer but delicious now.

[stefan]

One excellent wine to go with the great food at Union Square Cafe.

Is your move complete already, Jacques?

[jal]

It is Stefan, the house is no longer ours, and we are full time Manhattan residents now.

Hope to see you soon in the Big Apple

[stefan]

Congratulations, Jacques.

Lucie and I are coming to NYC Aug 22 for a wedding on Aug 24 (an Israeli friend who teaches at NYU). How about an offline on Aug 22 or Aug 23?

[AlexR]

I have a bottle of 98 Evangile, so I was happy to read your notes .

Alex R.

[robert goulet]

pretty sure another guest brought a '99 lynch to orlandoroberts wine dinner a couple years ago....boring was all i could think of

[OrlandoRobert]

pretty sure another guest brought a '99 lynch to orlandoroberts wine dinner a couple years ago....boring was all i could think of

Twas a '98, and like the '95, boring.

When this wine is on, though, it is amazing. The 1986, 89 and 90 are spectacular.

[jal]

Congratulations, Jacques.

Lucie and I are coming to NYC Aug 22 for a wedding on Aug 24 (an Israeli friend who teaches at NYU). How about an offline on Aug 22 or Aug 23?

With pleasure, Stefan. We are around August 23. I'll put it on the calendar.

[jal]

pretty sure another guest brought a '99 lynch to orlandoroberts wine dinner a couple years ago....boring was all i could think of

Twas a '98, and like the '95, boring.

When this wine is on, though, it is amazing. The 1986, 89 and 90 are spectacular.

But that's just it, guys. Maybe the 96 also but I think the estate on the whole is overrated. Can anyone think of any decent Lynch Bages since 96? Even the 2000 was boring!

[Comte Flaneur]

pretty sure another guest brought a '99 lynch to orlandoroberts wine dinner a couple years ago....boring was all i could think of

Twas a '98, and like the '95, boring.

When this wine is on, though, it is amazing. The 1986, 89 and 90 are spectacular.

But that's just it, guys. Maybe the 96 also but I think the estate on the whole is overrated. Can anyone think of any decent Lynch Bages since 96? Even the 2000 was boring!

(Rant alert)

I agree. Even the 2009 and 2010 are well down the pecking order among the also rans in these two great vintages. Lynch Bages may still punch above its 5th growth status, but it punches a long way below its price point.

Over here in the The UK, indisputably the epi-centre of the Universe with the Stones in the Park, Wimbledon, the Ashes etc, I remember the 85 won the Wine Magazine Trophy in 1990. And in those days the 85 Lynch was a compelling youthful wine. After ten years it began to lose a bit of grip and became a bit diffuse, and prematurely senile. Likewise the 1982, but which to be fair, like the Palmer 82 has made a Lazarus-like comeback.

Then the 1986, which is probably among the best handful of LBs, and the 1988-90 trifecta. My favourite of those is the 1988, perhaps the unsung hero. The 1990 is unbalanced, while for every good experience I had with the the 1989 I had one disappointing one. At the BWE event in 2009 it was roundly beaten by the two benchmark wines of that vintage and by half a dozen others on the night.

The estate went into an indifferent under-achieving - relative to its lofty reputation - period, from which it never really recovered. Just as Lynch Bages was a veritable bargain in the 1980s it has become a pass in every vintage kind of wine ... And that will continue to be the case until the relative price comes down. Among the lesser growths GPL and Pontet Canet are producing better juice,

Btw Jacques why did you emigrate to Manhattan. We're you just tired or bored of the commute?

[OrlandoRobert]

pretty sure another guest brought a '99 lynch to orlandoroberts wine dinner a couple years ago....boring was all i could think of

Twas a '98, and like the '95, boring.

When this wine is on, though, it is amazing. The 1986, 89 and 90 are spectacular.

But that's just it, guys. Maybe the 96 also but I think the estate on the whole is overrated. Can anyone think of any decent Lynch Bages since 96? Even the 2000 was boring!

Shhhh. . . . The Boss (Jimbo Howe JD) says the '08 LB rocks!

[jal]

Btw Jacques why did you emigrate to Manhattan. We're you just tired or bored of the commute?

Two reasons Ian, one: with the kids gone, the house was too big for Jill and me, and two: I have about two and a half hours more a day that I don't have to spend on a commuter train.

So far, no regrets, but I miss the pool in the summer.

[marcs]

I would like to step up to defend LB. I had the 2000 Lynch Bages in about 2005-06 and given a good decant it was spectacular, tremendous structure. A more recent bottle was boring but I think it was shut down, the tannins were formidable. Had the 1985 in about 2002-2003 and thought it was excellent as well. It did have a softness that is perhaps the quality that Flaneur calls 'diffuse' but I found it to be a very enjoyable and subtle feminine quality that complemented the typical left bank aspects, 1985 is not a long aging year.

Also, had the 1999 young (a year or two after release) and really enjoyed it, not a great wine but a protypically enjoyable Pauilliac.