Château Lynch-Moussas

The château

The Drouillard family bought the Domaine de Moussas-Bages in 1728, and Thomas Lynch came into it in 1748 by marrying Elisabeth Drouillard, which gave the place his name. His son Jean-Baptiste inherited in 1779, with his brother Michel running the estate while serving as mayor of Pauillac. When Jean-Baptiste died in 1835 the property was divided into Château Lynch-Moussas and Château Lynch-Bages, 20 years before the classification ranked them separately. A family of Spanish wine merchants, the Vasquez, held it from 1847, and Jean Castéja brought it into his family in 1919.

By 1970 the vineyard was under 10 hectares. From that year Émile Castéja replanted it to 60 and modernized everything around it. It runs to 62 hectares now, in Pauillac and in a parcel of Haut-Médoc held since 2001, on hillsides of Günz gravel, pebbles and gravel bound by clayey sand, planted 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot.

Each parcel is picked and fermented on its own in temperature controlled stainless steel, after a cold maceration and 3 to 4 weeks of fermentation, and the wine is raised 14 to 24 months depending on the year, 55 to 60% of it in new barrels from 7 coopers and the rest in barrels of 1 wine. Philippe Castéja took over the family properties in 2001; Thierry Ruban has directed them since 1994, Didier Chadourne has led the vineyard work since 2013 and Hugues Mathieu has been cellar master since March 2023, with Valérie Lavigne and Axel Marchal consulting, Marchal since 2016. Les Hauts de Lynch-Moussas, created in 2001, is the second wine and is sold as Haut-Médoc. The 1995, which I tasted in October 2025, showed what time does to this Pauillac: the edges softened into balsamic and dried fruit, forest floor, spice and silky tannins.

At a glance

Appellation

Pauillac

Classification

Cinquième Cru Classé 1855

Owners

The Castéja family, since 1919

Direction

Philippe Castéja, since 2001; Thierry Ruban, since 1994; Didier Chadourne, vineyard, since 2013; Hugues Mathieu, cellar master, since March 2023

Consultants

Valérie Lavigne; Axel Marchal, since 2016

Vineyard

62 hectares in Pauillac and a Haut-Médoc parcel held since 2001; replanted from under 10 hectares to 60 from 1970

Soil

Günz gravel over clayey sand Terroir of Pauillac →

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 75%, Merlot 25%

Cellar

Parcel by parcel in temperature controlled stainless steel; 14 to 24 months in barrel, 55 to 60% new, from 7 coopers

Wines

Château Lynch-Moussas; Les Hauts de Lynch-Moussas, created 2001, sold as Haut-Médoc

Origin

The division of the Lynch estate in 1835