Château Lynch-Moussas

The estate's history goes back to 1610, when the Domaine de Moussas-Bages belonged to the Jehan family, wine merchants who owned several estates. The Drouillard family purchased it in 1728. In 1748 Thomas Lynch inherited the domaine through his wife, Elisabeth Drouillard, and renamed it Château Lynch. In 1779 it passed to Jean-Baptiste Lynch (d. 1835), mayor of Bordeaux in 1808, who entrusted its management to his brother Michel Lynch, mayor of Pauillac. In 1835 Château Lynch was split into two estates: Lynch-Moussas, at the place named Moussas, and Lynch-Bages, at the place named Bages. Lynch-Moussas kept the château building. The Vasquez, a Spanish wine merchant family, purchased the estate in 1847, and in 1855 it was classified as a Fifth Growth of the Médoc. In 1919 Jean Castéja, then owner of Château Duhart-Milon, Château Pichon-Longueville Baron and Château Doisy-Védrines, added Lynch-Moussas to the family estates; the property then covered over 250 hectares. At the end of the 1960s his sons divided the family's assets, and in 1970 Émile Castéja took over the estate. He replanted the entire vineyard, which had fallen to less than ten hectares, increased it to 60 hectares, restored the manor house and renovated the cellars. In the 2000s his son Philippe Castéja took over management and brought in Denis Dubourdieu and his team as wine consultants. On 21 June 2019 the Castéja heirs celebrated 100 years of owning and running the estate and organised the 2019 Fête de la Fleur at the estate.

• 1610: the Domaine de Moussas-Bages belonged to the Jehan family; 1728: purchased by the Drouillard family.
• 1748: Thomas Lynch inherited the domaine and renamed it Château Lynch; 1835: split into Lynch-Moussas and Lynch-Bages.
• 1847: purchased by the Vasquez family; 1855: classified a Fifth Growth of the Médoc.
• 1919: acquired by Jean Castéja; 1970: Émile Castéja took over and rebuilt the vineyard to 60 hectares.
• 2019: the Castéja heirs marked 100 years of ownership and organised the Fête de la Fleur at the estate.

Philippe Castéja took over the overall running of the Castéja family wine estates, including Lynch-Moussas, in 2001, and runs a team both at the château in Pauillac and at the head offices in Bordeaux; the estate's team is made up of around twenty staff. Didier Chadourne has been technical manager since 2013 and manages the family's 180 hectares of Médoc vineyards. Olivier Gourdin joined in 2022 and manages the cultivation of the vineyard, and Hugues Mathieu has been cellarmaster since March 2023. The consultant oenologists are Valérie Lavigne, who has consulted at the estate for around fifteen years, and Axel Marchal, who followed on from Denis Dubourdieu and has consulted for the group's estates since 2016. Thierry Ruban, who arrived in 1994, is administrative manager of the group's estates.

• Philippe Castéja: running the Castéja family estates, including Lynch-Moussas, since 2001.
• Didier Chadourne: technical manager since 2013; Olivier Gourdin: vineyard cultivation since 2022; Hugues Mathieu: cellarmaster since March 2023.
• Consultant oenologists: Valérie Lavigne and Axel Marchal (since 2016, following Denis Dubourdieu).

The vineyard covers 62 hectares (153 acres) in the Pauillac and Haut-Médoc appellations and is planted to 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot. The vines grow on gravelly outcrops dating from the Günz era, made up of pebbles and gravel cemented together by clay sands. The vineyard is adjacent to plots belonging to Château Latour, Château Lynch-Bages, Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Château Batailley. Since 2001 the estate has also farmed a small vineyard on the hillock overlooking the château to the south, within the Haut-Médoc appellation; it is mainly young vines with an average age of 25 years, mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, and its grapes go into the second wine. Weed control is done by mechanical ploughing.

• 62 hectares (153 acres): 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot.
• Günz-era gravelly outcrops of pebbles and gravel cemented by clay sands.
• Neighbours include Latour, Lynch-Bages, Pichon-Longueville Baron, Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Batailley.
• A Haut-Médoc plot on the hillock south of the château, farmed since 2001, supplies the second wine.

Grapes are picked solely by hand from mid-September to the end of October, with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon harvested separately by ripeness level; a first sorting takes place in the vineyard and a second on a sorting table in the cellars. The bunches are de-stemmed and crushed, and the grapes of each plot go into their own vat. After a few days of low-temperature maceration, alcoholic fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats and lasts around ten days, followed by two to three more weeks of skin contact. The press wine is aged in barrel separately from the free-run wine, and malolactic fermentation follows. The wine ages in barrel for 14 to 24 months, depending on the vintage and on whether it is the first or second wine; 55% to 60% of the barrels are new and the rest are second-fill, made from French oak by 7 different cooperages. The wines are bottled at the château, in formats from the half-bottle (37.5cl) to the Melchior (18 litres).

• Hand harvest with sorting in the vineyard and on a sorting table in the cellars.
• Plot-by-plot vinification in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats.
• 14 to 24 months in barrel; 55% to 60% new oak from 7 cooperages.
• Bottled at the château, from half-bottle to Melchior.

The estate makes two wines. The grand vin, Château Lynch-Moussas, is a Pauillac Grand Cru Classé; the 2023 blends 78% Cabernet Sauvignon with 22% Merlot, and the 2022 blends 74% Cabernet Sauvignon with 26% Merlot. The second wine, Les Hauts de Lynch-Moussas, was launched by Émile and Philippe Castéja with the 2001 vintage under the Haut-Médoc appellation and is made from the estate's youngest vines; the 2016 blends 62% Cabernet Sauvignon with 38% Merlot.

• Château Lynch-Moussas (Pauillac): 2023 at 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot; 2022 at 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot.
• Les Hauts de Lynch-Moussas (Haut-Médoc): created for the 2001 vintage from the youngest vines.

Consultants Axel Marchal and Valérie Lavigne find in the 2023 grand vin 'smoky, elegantly toasted nuances' followed by 'more fruity notes of redcurrants and raspberries,' with a palate that is 'Dense and continuous.' Their note on the 2025 cites 'fruity notes of raspberry, intertwined with a hint of menthol' and 'a finish that is both fresh and tannic.'

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.lynch-moussas.com/en/, https://www.lynch-moussas.com/en/presentation/, https://www.lynch-moussas.com/en/terroir-savoir-faire/, https://www.lynch-moussas.com/en/equipe-du-chateau/, https://www.lynch-moussas.com/en/les-vins/, https://www.lynch-moussas.com/en/presentation-of-chateau-lynch-moussas-2020-by-philippe-casteja/, https://www.lynch-moussas.com/en/primeurs-2026/, https://www.lynch-moussas.com/en/chateau-lynch-moussas/?vintage=2023, https://www.lynch-moussas.com/en/les-hauts-de-lynch-moussas/?vintage=2016. Secondary source: Decanter (Decanter Staff, last updated 28 May 2015). Last verified 2026-10-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.