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Chateau Lynch-Moussas

This estate harks back to the time of the Lynch family, a notable local dynasty descended from an Irish soldier by the name of John Lynch. Born in 1669, by the end of the century Lynch had settled in France, having left Irelend in 1691. There he established himself as a trader of textiles, wool and leather, in the bustling port of Bordeaux. He soon put down roots in his new home, marrying a local girl Guillemette Constant, and together they had two children. Of these, it was Thomas who seems to have been the most active in vinous circles, and during the 18th Century the family made a number of significant acquisitions, not only those two estates in Pauillac that still bear their name today, Lynch-Bages (coming to him when he married owner Elizabeth Drouillard) and Lynch-Moussas, but also Dauzac in Margaux. Moussas, of course, refers to the small village of the same name, next to the vineyards.

Having attempted to research the early history of Chateau Lynch-Moussas, it soon becams clear to me that there is little information about the early years of the estate. Of the early classifications of the Médoc, including that of André Simon in 1800 and Lawton's in 1815, neither make any mention of Lynch-Moussas. This is despite the fact that by the turn of the century it had already been in the possession of the Lynch family for several decades. It was in Wilhelm Franck's classification of 1845 that Lynch-Moussas first made an appearance, when he ranked it as a cinquième cru. Ten years later, when the 1855 classification had been drawn up, this estate was one of the many in Pauillac ranked as a cinquième cru. At this time the estate was of a considerable size, 150 hectares all told, although as is always the case only a proportion of the land would have been planted to vines. Nevertheless, in the latter half of the 19th Century and continuing into the next, Phylloxera, economic depression and war had just the same effect on Lynch-Moussas as it did on the rest of Bordeaux. In 1919 it was sold to Jean Castéja, and it remained an undistinguished part of the Castéja family portfolio, until Emile Castéja took the reins in 1969, by which time the property in was in an advanced state of disrepair. The vineyards had contracted to just a few hectares, the buildings were derelict, and there were no winemaking facilities to speak of. It was at nearby Batailley that the first few vintages under Emile's tenure were made, until the necessary repairs had been made.

Over the ensuing decades a program of improvement was put in place at Lynch-Moussas, as the vineyards required replanting, and the chai and chateau required heavy investment. The latter, an 18th Century building set some distance from the D2 in the west of the Pauillac commune, is now home to Emile's son, Philippe Castéja, who looks after not just Lynch-Moussas but also much of the family's portfolio as head of the négociant firm Borie-Manoux, and who is also president of the Conseils de Grands Crus Classés en 1855. Today the vineyards of Lynch-Moussas amount to almost 60 hectares, with some adjacent to the Batailley and Grand-Puy-Lacoste vineyards, obviously there is some near the village of Moussas, and there are also some vine further north, near the Duhart-Milon vineyards. The vines are predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, accounting for 70% of the vineyard, the remainder entirely Merlot, and the vines dig their roots deep into the Gunzian gravels that are typical of the region. The fruit sees a manual harvest, before fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, with subsequent malolactic fermentation in the same vessel before transfer into oak, 60% new per annum. Today the wines are fined with egg whites but not filtered before bottling. The grand vin that results is Chateau Lynch-Moussas (20000 cases per annum), the second wine is Les Hauts de Lynch Moussas.

With a recent history of investment and replanting it is only natural to expect a track record of improvement over recent years, just as we see with Duhart-Milon, another Pauillac estate with a similar recent history. Indeed, reports indicate that this is the case with Lynch-Moussas also, with very recent vintages, such as the 2000, 2003 and 2005, being the most successful. Having only limited tasting experience, I have only a few data points with which to make any judgement, but these nevertheless make for some relevant conclusions. I have persistently found the 1997 to be a disappointing wine, rather lean, with piquant acidity and unusual flavours. But this was a very weak vintage for Bordeaux, probably the least worthy vintage of the last ten years, painfully so for the consumer as many wines were released at overly high prices. To judge the estate fairly we should look to more recent and more favourable vintages. The 2001 and 2004 both show that Lynch-Moussas is capable of producing good wines, early drinking perhaps, but attractive and certainly good buys at the right price. The 2003, however, shows considerably more substance and a very successful wine for the estate. It is unlikely that Lynch-Moussas will ever challenge the great chateaux of Pauillac, of which there are a good number, but these wines still have a place in any well balanced cellar. And with the likelihood of better and better wines, as vines mature and the cellar sees continued investment from Philippe Castéja, Lynch-Moussas is certainly one to watch. (27/3/07)

Contact details:
Address:Chateau Lynch-Moussas, 33250 Pauillac
Telephone: +33 (0) 5 56 00 00 70
Fax: +33 (0) 5 56 57 87 60 30

Chateau Lynch-Moussas - Tasting Notes

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2005

Chateau Lynch-Moussas (Pauillac) 2005: A dark and smoky nose, with a little stony violet character providing nice interest. It is not too expressively forthright, however. The palate has a nice appeal, though, showing a gently creamy texture, a seamless, nicely composed structure, with a harmonious presence of nicely covered tannins and a gentle but fresh and lively fruit acidity. This has a good finish too. Very good indeed. From my tasting of 2005 Bordeaux at two years of age. 16.5+/20 (October 2007)

2004

Chateau Lynch-Moussas (Pauillac) 2004: Nicely spiced fruit on the nose here. Appealing style, again rather ripe, softly structured tannins. This is a well composed, attractive wine which will do well short to medium term in the cellar. From my assessment of Bordeaux 2004 at the UGC tasting. 15.5+/20 (October 2006)

2003

Chateau Lynch-Moussas (Pauillac) 2003: A deep colour, nicely concentrated out to the rim. with nutty, slightly gravelly fruit. A touch subdued. An appealing style on the palate though, with a full grip. Really quite attractive, with plenty of charcoaly tannins on the finish. Good style for the vintage. 16.5+/20 (February 2007)

2001

Chateau Lynch-Moussas (Pauillac) 2001: Tasted at six years of age, and showing early maturity on inspection. Fresh, open, maturing nose, and on the palate a soft, fleshy, rather unfocussed palate. It doesn't have the vigour one might hope for. There are some nice flavours, but to be critical it lacks direction. Loose knit style. For current drinking. 15.5+/20 (February 2007)

1997

Chateau Lynch-Moussas (Pauillac) 1997: Not tasted blind as this was the first of two wines I brought along. I've never really enjoyed this wine, from what I maintain is (generalising) a disappointing vintage. Showing advanced maturity on inspection. Evolved nose, with unusual ripe banana and confected notes. Seems OK on entry, but falls away on the midpalate. Medium bodied, charmless tannins, and hollow. Another bottle (my last!) - which was in fact a little less evolved and better for it - I took to another tasting group a few weeks later and had them all thinking it was Italian (the unbalanced acidity) and commenting on strange custard aromas. Clearly an "unusual" wine. From a Bordeaux tasting. 13/20 (October 2003)

Chateau Lynch-Moussas (Pauillac) 1997: An attractive colour here, garnet-red. No real evidence of age, although it has lost the purple vibrancy of youth. The nose has some good attributes - a modicum of fruit and a cedary element, but also an unusual sweaty, sappy, pine needle character. There's good weight on the palate, with some fruit apparent on entry. Nevertheless it is spoiled by a hard, charmless texture and a bitter flavour. Acidity is on the low side, and there are appropriate tannins. From a Bordeaux 1997 tasting. 13.5/20 (February 2003)