Tasted blind next to the 2010 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc. Super grassy on the nose entwined with plenty of floral orange blossom and papaya. Some solid richness here on the palate but it's well restrained by the acidity and actually finished quite crisp. This was a fair bit darker in colour than the SHL tasted along side but that was somewhat deceiving as it drank fresher than I was expecting. My first Lynch-Bages blanc...this was quite interesting to try but overall I preferred the leaner and more focused style of the SHL.

Tasted blind next to the 2010 Château Lynch-Bages Blanc de Lynch-Bages. This was quite reserved at first but opened up and filled out over the evening. Plenty of lime zest citrus and underlying papaya/lean tropical fruits fill this out with a spicy peppery undertone. This was much lighter in colour than the LB tasted along side...very lean and focused on the palate with a wonderful salinity that really came to the forefront. Crisp and focused with mouth puckering acidity, this was showing really well on this evening and fortunately wasn't plagued by any oxidation as some bottles have noted below. A fabulous wine tonight and certainly my favorite of the flight.

Tasted blind next to the 1990 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, 1990 Château Angélus, and 1990 Château Beausejour. Outstanding nose displaying bright red cherries, classic left bank pencil/cigar box/leather with an underlying sweetness lurking in the background. This is starting to flaunt its maturity meanwhile still hanging onto its youthful power. Cassis, a touch of mint, and plenty of spice become evident on the palate as this continues to open up. Lynch-Bages seems to always deliver exactly what I’m looking for (especially in this era) and this bottle was no different. Absolutely killer tonight and my favorite of the flight.

Tasted blind next to the 1990 Château Lynch-Bages, 1990 Château Angélus, and 1990 Château Beausejour. This took a while to open up aromatically but with some time in the glass showed a beautiful nose of classic left bank pencil shavings and leather along with some plummy fruit and floral notes. Darker in profile on the palate with purple fruits, a touch of green mint, and a spicy finish. Texturally this was a touch chalky but it wasn’t distracting in any way. Fantastic, this would have been tops for me if it wasn’t for the LB which shined just a tad brighter on this evening.

Tasted blind next to the 1990 Château Lynch-Bages, 1990 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, and 1990 Château Beausejour. Still quite fresh and oyouthful, this took a bit of time to open up despite being decanted earlier in the evening. Darker in profile than the previous two wines, displaying black cherries, lead pencil, mossy forest floor, and mushrooms. On the palate this was rounder and riper than the two left bank wines, with a touch of wild stank and plenty of peppery spice. Great silky mouthfeel, this definitely appeared more youthful visually than the other wines yet was still an absolute pleasure to drink at this age. Based on the freshness of this bottle there’s no rush at all on these.

Tasted blind next to the 1990 Château Lynch-Bages, 1990 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, and 1990 Château Angélus. The ripest wine of the flight yet still holding onto its old world roots. Dark fruits explode out of the glass coupled with black pepper spice, cedar, and a touch of oak. There was an underlying sweetness that showed on the palate yet it was well controlled, along with black currants, blueberries, clove, and a touch of menthol. This was texturally softer and showing more maturity than the Angélus, yet these will live for a long time yet.