The 1986 Lynch Bages has a knockout bouquet that wraps its arms around you with all its loveliness: pure black cherries, mint and cedar, even a touch of glycerine still there. Vibrant and youthful. The palate is beautifully balanced, crisp and taut, linear but very precise with a fine bead of acidity. You just fall for the harmony of this Lynch Bages, the intensity of fruit that seems undiminished on the finish. Is it up there with the 1989 and 1990? Maybe not, but it is not far behind. Frankly this Lynch Bages is a 1986 Claret that you cannot own too much of and as I commented to Jean-Michel Cazes tasting alongside me, at 30 years of age it still has more to give. Tasted July 2016.

1986年は色は暗い紫色で、極めてリッチで、タニックである。しかし、このタンニンは突出しすぎて、渋すぎるのではなかろうか。少なくともあと10年はこの質問に答えられる人がいるとは思えないが、今のところは魅力や楽しみより著しい大きさや重みの点で称賛に値するものとなっている。つくりは印象的で、飲み頃も近づいているが、いまだ非常に若々しいワインだ。