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History
Château Lynch-Moussas is a 5ème Cru Classé estate located in the south-west of the Pauillac appellation. Lynch-Moussas has been thoroughly renovated in the last 30 years and is now producing high quality claret.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 Ireland 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. There is little information about the history of Chateau Lynch-Moussas. 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.
Nowadays’ owner: Philippe Castéja
技术信息
Location: located in the south-west of the Pauillac appellation.
Appellation: Appellation Pauillac Controlee
Neighboring Chateau: Chateau Pichon Baron(2nd Growth of Pauillac in 1855)
Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste(5th Growth of Pauillac in 1855)
Chateau Lynch Bages (5th Growth of Pauillac in 1855)
Chateau Batailley(5th Growth of Pauillac in 1855)
Acreage: almost 60 hectares
Soil: Gunzian gravels
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon 70%, Merlot 30%.
Average age of vines: 30 years
Cultivation Density: 8,000-10,000 vines/ha
Viticulture: harvested by hand
Winemaking: fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, with subsequent malolactic fermentation in the same vessel before transfer into oak, 60% new per annum for 12-18 months. Fined with egg whites but not filtered before bottling.
Yield: 4,000-4,200hl/ha
Brand: Chateau Lynch-Moussas(First Label)(A.O.C. Pauillac)
Les Hauts de Lynch Moussas(Second Label)(A.O.C. Pauillac)
Annually Production: 15,000 cases
Character:
Chateau Lynch-Moussas (First Label): The wines are rich in black fruits and display prominent vanilla notes. For a Pauillac, Lynch-Moussas contains a relatively high proportion of Merlot and is consequently a softer, silkier and lushes wine than many of its neighbours.
Best Vintages: Chateau Lynch-Moussas(First Label): 2000, 2003, 2004
Awards: 5th Grand Cru Classe in 1855 Pauillac
Chateau Lynch-Moussas 1996: Decanter “wines of the year”.
Sources: http://www.thewinedoctor.com/bordeaux/lynchmoussas.shtml
Serving Suggestion
Cellar Humidity and Temperature: 75-85%, 15 ℃
Serving Temperature: 17-19 °C
Optimum Drink and Ageing Potential: 10-15 years
Food match:
Chateau Lynch-Moussas(First Label):
Western Food: Beef, poultry, cheese (Saint Nectaire, Edam, and Gouda) pasta with cream sauce, hearty stew, pizza, pork, veal, game. Foie gras, Mushroom dishes.
Next Chateau Clerc-Milon
Pre Chateau Lynch-Bages
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