Ladies and gentlemen, mesdames et messieurs, welcome to the grand arena of Bordeaux. Under the glittering chandeliers of the Médoc, we bring you tonight’s title fight: The Pauillac Punch-Up.

In the blue corner, the unwavering juggernaut of the Left Bank, the art collector with an attitude, Château Mouton-Rothschild.

And in the red corner, dust rising from the gravel, sleeves rolled up, the people’s champion, the fighter with a First-Growth soul — Château Lynch-Bages.

Mouton saunters forward, suave as a cabernet chariot made of silk. Aromas of cassis, cigar box, and pure self-assurance. Every move with intent, every punch a polished performance. Oh, the class, the confidence and the lead pencil swagger as it confirms that "First I am, Second I was, Nothing changes."

Lynch-Bages meanwhile is not here to curtsy. It has grit in its DNA. It swings in with brawny fruit, cassis and tobacco, a proper working man’s left hook. You can almost hear it growl, "Classification be damned — taste me, mate!"

Mano a Mano

In the 1950s Lynch-Bages earned the reputation as being ‘the poor man’s Mouton Rothschild’. This was a result of the chateau producing a row of successful wines even in minor vintages throughout the decade.

A witty person suggested that Mouton Rothschild must then be ‘the rich man’s Lynch-Bages,’ which was not far off as both wines did very well during the time.

A few years ago I had a conversation with the late Jean-Michel Cazes, father of the present owner of Lynch-Bages, Jean-Charles Cazes. He told me that during the 50s his father would look down to Latour and exclaim ‘Oh, now Latour is harvesting, then we will wait another two weeks’. A daring gamble indeed, especially since weather reports were not so accurate in those days. But it paid off and Lynch-Bages earned its reputation.

I have tasted most vintages of Lynch-Bages since 1945 and the 50s were indeed especially good for the chateau. Even in minor vintages like 1954, 1956 and 1957 they turned out very good wines, still enjoyable today.

A while ago I did a tasting comparing Lynch-Bages and Mouton Rothschild in the same vintages – both old and modern, serving the flights semi blind to see how they would fare. As both chateaux have had their ups and downs it was with great excitement we pulled this off.