The Vineyard That Nearly Vanished, The Building That Remained—Château Lynch-Moussas

In 1835, the death of a count split one estate into two. One half carried on the name Bages, the other the name Moussas. It was the Moussas side that kept the building itself. Judging by name alone, this side—the one that inherited the château—ought to look like the “senior house.”

But inheriting the building did not mean the road ahead was smooth. Just before entering the 1970s, this vineyard had shrunk to the very brink of disappearing. There was a time when the château stood, yet almost no vineyard remained around it. The story of how the vineyard was rebuilt from there forms the core of this château’s story.

The Estate That Bore the Lynch Name, and the 1835 Division

The official history records that in 1610, this land—then known as Domaine de Moussas-Bages—was owned by the Jehan family. In 1728, the estate was purchased by the Drouillard family. Then in 1748, Thomas Lynch is said to have inherited the estate through his wife, Elizabeth Drouillard, and renamed it Château Lynch.

Jean-Baptiste Lynch, who inherited the estate, was no ordinary landowner. He served as Mayor of Bordeaux in 1808, was made a Count of the Empire in 1811, and became a peer of France in 1815. Alongside his public duties, he is said to have entrusted the management of the estate to his brother, Michel Lynch—a knight who also served as Mayor of Pauillac.

When Jean-Baptiste Lynch died in 1835, the estate was split in two. Château Lynch-Moussas rose on the Moussas side, and Château Lynch-Bages on the Bages side. And it was the Moussas side that kept the building itself. Though the name divided, the château remained standing right here.

From 120 Hectares to Fewer Than 10

In 1847, the Vasquez family, Spanish wine merchants, purchased the château. In 1855, the Médoc classification was drawn up, and “Château LYNCH-MOUSSAS” was recorded in Bordeaux’s official list as a Fifth Growth of Pauillac.

In 1919, Jean Castéja acquired the estate. At the time, the property exceeded 250 hectares, of which 120 hectares are said to have been planted with vines.

But from there, the vineyard shrank. It is said to have contracted to “fewer than 10 hectares.” The wine trade publication The Wine Cellar Insider corroborates this, reporting that fewer than 10 hectares of vines remained just before the 1970 rebuilding. A Decanter-affiliated outlet goes further still, reporting that only 4 hectares were actually under vine at the time—a more extreme figure than the official record, but in either case the scale was, for a classified château’s vineyard, on the very edge of disappearing.

1970: The Vineyard Reborn at 60 Hectares

In 1970, Émile Castéja took over management. The vineyard was subsequently expanded to 60 hectares. A vineyard of fewer than 10 hectares had thus grown more than sixfold within a single generation.

Philippe Castéja, who later succeeded to leadership, is reported to have told a Decanter-affiliated outlet that the château survived only “thanks to this classification.” No matter how small the vineyard became, its place on the 1855 classification kept protecting its standing as a château—or so he himself appears to see it.

In 2001, Philippe Castéja took over management, and starting from that same vintage, the second wine Les Hauts de Lynch-Moussas was launched. It is made by blending Haut-Médoc parcels with declassified Pauillac parcels. On June 21, 2019, the Castéja heirs are said to have celebrated the estate’s 100th anniversary of ownership and management.

Today, Technical Director Didier Chadourne (since 2013), Vineyard Manager Olivier Gourdin (arrived 2022), and Cellar Master Hugues Mathieu (arrived March 2023) oversee the work in the vineyard and cellar, while oenologist Dr. Valérie Lavigne has served as a consultant for around 15 years, and Axel Marchal has been involved as a consultant to the group as a whole since 2016. The grand vin’s principal variety is Cabernet Sauvignon, blended with Merlot. According to the trade body UGCB, the vineyard today covers 62 hectares, with a varietal mix said to be 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc.

Three Facts Worth Knowing

• The building remained on the Moussas side, not the Bages side. When the estate divided after Jean-Baptiste Lynch’s death in 1835, the Château Lynch building stayed on the Moussas side.
• A 120-hectare vineyard once shrank to fewer than 10 hectares. The vineyard, which stood at 120 hectares when acquired in 1919, later contracted to fewer than 10 hectares.
• In 1970, the vineyard was reborn at 60 hectares. After Émile Castéja took over management, the vineyard was expanded and rebuilt from a state on the brink of disappearing.