Keep Calm and Drink Lynch-Bages

It was Day 2 of En Primeur Bordeaux 2025. We did the right bank on Day 1 and the lineup for Day 2 on the Left Bank had been jam-packed: Château Palmer, Château Margaux, Château Pontet-Canet, followed by Montrose and Cos d’Estournel in St.-Estèphe, with a big finish at Lafite (at Duhart Milon) and Mouton (at d’Armailhac). We were feeling a little exhausted and definitely palate-fatigued so we were ready to return to Cantemerle for a brief rest and dinner when Nick D asked if we would like to fit in Lynch-Bages. It was a resounding yes from the SWE crew as the chance to visit Lynch-Bages was fortuitous. So we made the detour to Lynch-Bages. And just WOW, thank goodness we did!

As we entered Lynch-Bages, I felt like we were entering an art gallery. It is so sophisticated with an incredible modern art vibe, glass tables filled with alligator sculptures, and large format LB bottles. It is immaculately curated and presented. In fact, the entire facility contains large-scale modern art sculptures (many depicting animals) and paintings, along with an incredible white, sweeping spiral staircase. It is absolutely jaw-dropping. Couple this with the old château charm that still dominates the property and you have a perfect juxtaposition of old and new.

The most spectacular aspect of Lynch-Bages, however, is the brand-new, state-of-the-art winemaking facility. We toured the entire facility with Kinou Cazes Hachemian, one of the owners of Lynch-Bages. They were hosting a UGC tasting that day so the facility was absolutely teeming with industry folks. It was a great vibe, very buzzy, and very light.

The facility is pristine, sleek, lots of glass, filled with enormous stainless tanks and walkways like bridges, a design that floods the facility with natural light, and equipped with solar paneling on the roof. In addition to this triumph, they have a very clever architect and design team that married the original tank room to the new one. So you can stand in the original structure and you are actually connected and can see into the new one. Pure genius!

Next, we toured the barrel room and private cellar; like the rest of the facility, they were well-crafted and impressive on every level. We saw the first bottle to go into space, which was a 375ml bottle of Lynch-Bages 1975 signed by all the astronauts on the 1985 Discovery mission.

Finally, we moved to the far end of the winery, overlooking the charming village of Bages, where we had the En Primeur tasting. This tasting included Lynch-Bages, Écho de Lynch-Bages, Blanc de Lynch-Bages, Château Haut-Batailley, Verso de Haut-Batailley, Château Ormes de Pez, and the new guy, Ormes de Pez Blanc. The reds were excellent, marked by the balance, precision, fresh fruit, and elegant tannic structure that was a constant thread throughout the region. Tasting the Blancs provided a much-needed sense of refreshment. They were just divine — approachable, and expressive.

As we left Lynch-Bages we asked Kinou to visit us in upstate NY sometime in the future to educate and train the staff, and perhaps to film in our studio. She seemed up for it and gifted us all Keep Calm and Drink Lynch-Bages t-shirts. Absolutely fantastic visit, souvenir, and mantra!