Chateau Lynch-Moussas 2018
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Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb - Decanter
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Spectator
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Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This estate has steadily gained in quality and this latest release is one of its best. With good balance between black-currant fruits and a sophisticated structure, the wine has a great future. The dominance of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend will allow it to age. Drink from 2026.
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James Suckling
Ripe blackcurrant, stewed blackberry, clove, chocolate, graphite and hints of lemon verbena. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, tight-grained tannins. Focused and polished. Try from 2024.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A terrific effort from this estate, the 2018 Château Lynch-Moussas just about jumps out of the glass with classic Pauillac smoked black fruits, lead pencil, tobacco, and chocolate-like aromas and flavors. These all carry to a medium to full-bodied red with a supple, elegant texture, ripe, polished tannin's, rock-solid balance, and a great finish. It's going to round into form with 4-5 years in the cellar (it's far from unapproachable today) and should have a solid two decades of prime drinking.
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Decanter
An estate that has been gaining in stature over recent years, and although this is not the most concentrated of the classed Pauillacs, it has appealing blackberry and bilberry fruits along with coffee and cigar smoke, and a sense of lift and energy. Enjoyable fresh acidity and grilled oak. Drinking Window 2023 - 2038
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Wine Spectator
Juicy and focused, with a cassis, red cherry and plum profile that keeps it leaning to the red side of the fruit ledger, while hints of sweet tobacco, and graphite lend a pleasantly dark note through the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now through 2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Lynch-Moussas offers up delicate scents of ripe red and black currants, black raspberries and tobacco leaf, with emerging hints of cardamom, potpourri and tilled soil. The medium-bodied palate is soft and fruity, delivering a refreshing line and an appealing savory finish.
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Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spectator
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Suckling
James -
Spectator
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Enthusiast
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Parker
Robert
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Parker
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Spectator
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Enthusiast
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Parker
Robert
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Spectator
Wine
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
The leader on the Left Bank in number of first growth classified producers within its boundaries, Pauillac has more than any of the other appellations, at three of the five. Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild border St. Estephe on its northern end and Chateau Latour is at Pauillac’s southern end, bordering St. Julien.
While the first growths are certainly some of the better producers of the Left Bank, today they often compete with some of the “lower ranked” producers (second, third, fourth, fifth growth) in quality and value. The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification that goes back to 1855. The finest chateaux in that year were judged on the basis of reputation and trading price; changes in rank since then have been miniscule at best. Today producers such as Chateau Pontet-Canet, Chateau Grand Puy-Lacoste, Chateau Lynch-Bages, among others (all fifth growth) offer some of the most outstanding wines in all of Bordeaux.
Defining characteristics of fine wines from Pauillac (i.e. Cabernet-based Bordeaux Blends) include inky and juicy blackcurrant, cedar or cigar box and plush or chalky tannins.
Layers of gravel in the Pauillac region are key to its wines’ character and quality. The layers offer excellent drainage in the relatively flat topography of the region allowing water to run off into “jalles” or streams, which subsequently flow off into the Gironde.