Two Pauillac classed growths carry the name of Thomas Lynch, the Bordeaux-born son of an Irish emigrant family who married into the region's wine trade in the eighteenth century. Lynch-Bages is the famous one. Lynch-Moussas, named for the hamlet of Moussas, is the quieter Fifth Growth inland from the river, out past Batailley.
It had fallen to almost nothing by the 1960s. Émile Castéja, of the merchant house Borie-Manoux, bought it in 1969 and spent decades replanting, and 1985 comes from the middle of that rebuilding, with the vines still young and the wine honest and firmly Cabernet Sauvignon-led rather than grand. That is precisely why it costs what it does, and why it is an unusually affordable way to hold a Pauillac classed growth from a named year.
1985 was a good Médoc vintage, warm and dry into harvest. This bottle has an excellent fill for its age, but a lighter wine of forty years is fragile by definition and is sold as a collectible rather than a guaranteed drink.
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Producer: Château Lynch-Moussas
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Vintage: 1985
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Appellation: Pauillac AOC
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Format: 75cl
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Region: Bordeaux, France
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Style: Red
Where it is likely to be now. Young vines and a modest wine to begin with mean this was never built for the long distance, so expect it lean and tertiary if it has held at all, with the neck-level fill the best sign in its favour.
Who it suits. An affordable forty-first birthday gift for someone who wants a genuine Pauillac classed growth from their year, and who will enjoy the Irish name behind it.
Condition. Very slight bin-soiling on the label and the fill is still into the neck, which is exceptional for the age and the strongest single sign of careful storage.
Provenance. Bought to order from a professional European merchant. We check fill, label and capsule when the bottle reaches us and photograph it before it ships.
Delivered in 7 to 10 working days, tracked. Transit cover can be added at checkout.
Sold as a collectible item, as seen. No guarantee is given on drinkability.
