2016 EP Lynch Moussas, Pauillac 5th
Deep ruby; tight Rim. Fresh, blackcurrant and other dark fruits, as well as graphite, smoke and lots of other Pauillac character . Lively palate with excellent acidity and good tannins. Quite easy; not too big; just right.
This making style of Lynch Moussas 2005 allow expression of unity and variety of a Terroir composed with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot: debranching, deleafing, green harvests have been settled these last years to achieve a complete top maturity of high quality grapes, hence the ripe has ripe tannins and ripe dark fruit. The manual harvests allow the team to bring to the modern vat rooms perfectly sound berries. The last checking takes place on the sorting table; this way, only the very best grapes arrive in the vat. Hence there is body to the wine despite it 12 years of age. Fermentaiton is almost 20 days; 18 month in French oak(50% new), hence this wine gives lovely colour, ripe and abundant tannins, dark fruits and intense.
93-94 points James Suckling
This is very dense and intense with lovely intensity and energy. Dense, round and savory tannins. Another winner from here. (4/2017)
94 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Lynch Moussas is a blend of 17% Merlot an 83% Cabernet Sauvignon cropped at 48 hectoliters per hectare between 3 and 19 October. Matured in 60% new oak and the remainder one year old, this has a concentrated bouquet that offers tobacco-infused black fruit, briary and then with aeration, veins of pencil lead. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin cloaked in plenty of black fruit, quite spicy for Lynch Moussas with a touch of orange rind developing towards the finish. I appreciate the salinity on the aftertaste here. This is excellent and may well surpass the impressive 2015 last year. (NM) (4/2017)
94 points Wine Enthusiast
This is one of those estates showing a new era of quality. The wine has power while keeping everything in balance. Acidity and black currant fruit are just as important as the structure. Drink after 2026. (RV) (4/2017)
92 points Decanter
Deeply coloured with a slightly smoky edge to the oak, this is a very good Lynch-Moussas full of Pauillac character of dark fruits and graphite. 60% new oak complements the blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Merlot, cropped to a yield of 48hl/ha. One of the best I remember at this property. (JA) (4/2017)
