2005 Chateau Lynch Moussas Pauillac Bordeaux

The Lynch family was one of fourteen families that made up the ‘Tribes of Galway’ in the 1600s. These Irish merchant families steered and controlled Galaway’s social norms, politics, and commercial markets. Unfortunately, the Tribes’ prosperity was somewhat short-lived. When the British invaded Ireland, they sought to make an example of the influential Tribe families and seized many of their properties.

Interestingly, it wasn’t the British that drove the Lynch’s from Ireland, it was the increasing tension between Catholic and Protestant sects. The Catholic Lynch’s, fearing persecution, fled to Bordeaux and became naturalized citizens in 1710 to avoid the growing tensions in their homeland.

The Lynch’s owned the Chateau for almost 100 years. During that time, the estate grew under the leadership of Thomas’ sons, John-Baptist Lynch, a prominent French politician who was appointed the Mayor of Bordeaux and was also a French Senator, as well as his brother Michael, who oversaw the vineyards. 

Into the Modern Age

Chateau Lynch-Moussas’ current owner is Philippe Castéja, whose family took over the estate in 1919. The Castéjas are a respected wine family, who own numerous wineries throughout Bordeaux, but it seems like they made a few questionable decisions when it came to the management of Lynch-Moussas’, at least initially.

When the Castéjas took over, the property was 250 hectares, making it one of the largest in the region, and included a diverse mix of vineyards, pasture, and forest. It’s unclear why the decision was made, but the patriarch, Jean Castéja, decided to divide the property between his four sons, cutting up the land piece by piece. When the divvying up was finished, Chateau Lynch-Moussas was a meager ten hectares. 

If there’s one person we should thank for the exquisite wine we’re tasting today, it’s Émile Castéja, who was given the Chateau to manage in the 1970s. Émile completely revitalized the estate, the vineyards, and the grand chateau house. To bring the brand back to its former glory, he replanted all of the vineyards and, essentially, started from scratch. He also increased the number of vines on the property by six-fold, taking the 10 hectares and expanding that number to 60 hectares. 

Under Émile’s leadership, Chateau Lynch-Moussas once again became a respected name in Paulliac, so when his son, Philippe, took the reins in the 2000s, the estate was primed to produce wines that were once again worthy of the Fifth Growth classification.

Fifth Growth Bordeaux Today

Chateau Lynch-Moussas is classified as a Fifth Growth Bordeaux under the 1855 classification system that was part marketing gimmick, part quality indicator. If you’ve been following the chatter in the wine community over the last few years, then you may have heard some rumblings about how misaligned the growth classifications are 167 years on from the original decrees.

Many of these estates, like Chateau Lynch-Moussas, have been modernized and now use technology to get the most out of the land and elevate the quality of the wine they make. There is an excellent deep-dive article from VinePair into the argument for revisiting what Fifth Growth Bordeaux really means in terms of quality today, and the focal point happens to be Chateau Lynch Bages, the neighboring property to Lynch-Moussas. Definitely worth a read.