Ray Vanderhoff

8.9

Dark ruby color. Aromas of dark berries and plums, with additional hints of purple flowers and cocoa. Bold flavors of blackberry, boysenberry, black plum, dark chocolate, strong coffee and sweet spices. Long finish and full bodied. Light on the acidity and very silky tannins. Rich and concentrated. Thanking Weston and Beckki for opening this bottle. — 25 days ago

Joe Gillies

9.3

Excellent! Has the body and fruit of a Cali pinot but balanced with the earthy and acidity of a burgundy pinot. Go Braves! — 2 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

Whenever I have a really older bottle of wine, I think, what was I doing in this case 1989?

About this time of year, I was walking into Candlestick Park for the Bay Bridge World Series while this wine was fermenting. I was walking through the parking lot when the 89 earthquake hit. It was like Godzilla was a Gopher tunneling under my feet. The stadium erupted with a resounding cheer. Earthquake during the World Series...yeah! It wasn’t until an hour later that hard reality set in.

This Chateau Lynch-Moussas is a recent direct purchase from the Negotiant. 89 was a pretty good Bordeaux year. So, why not see how a 5th Growth producer wine evolved over 30 years. It’s a treat to enjoy wine with this much age.

While Lynch-Mousses has improved vastly in more recent vintages, back in the day, they made some nice wines but, not great. This wine shows beauty & elegance but, it lacks fundamental elements of high quality. However, its fruit and structure have held up nicely over the years.

The nose reveals a fair amount of; barnyard, mushrooms, ripe; blackberries dark currants, dark cherries, black raspberries & strawberries on the edges of the glass. Black plum skin, dark chocolate, raspberry cola, mocha, caramel, clove, nutmeg, burnt cinnamon, tarriness, graphite, leather, old tobacco, dark spice, dry herbs, dark, rich, black earth, stones, dry brush, steeped tea with withering red & dark florals.

The body is still full and round. The fruits are still ripe & slightly candied. The wine is still holding an interesting drinking window, it’s on the decline. While that sounds not good, I find them in this phase infinitely more interesting. Ripe; blackberries dark currants, dark cherries, black raspberries & some strawberries. Black plum with skin, dark chocolate, raspberry cola, mocha, caramel, clove, nutmeg, burnt cinnamon, vanillin, tarriness, graphite, leather, old tobacco, dark spice, dry herbs, dark, rich, forest floor, mushrooms, stones, touch of limestone minerals & crush rocks, dry brush, steeped tea with withering red & dark florals with violets. The acidity is round & excellent. The long finish is; rich, ripe, well balanced & intergraded with long drier but, very floral persistence.

Excellent with our steaks. Still has another 5-7 years of good drinking ahead with excellent storage. I also miss the 12-13% ABV of the 80’s Bordeaux’s.

Photos of; the entrance view of Chateau Lynch-Moussas, Count Jean-Baptiste Lynch of Ireland and Chateau founded in the 1800’s, the owner/operator since 1961 - Emile Casteja and their barrel room.
— 5 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

This one is a 93+ at this stage with room for improvements with some more age.

The Farella showed a more savory character than the rest. It’s body thicker than the others. Ruby; blackberries, black plum, black raspberries & raspberries. Herbaceous notes, soft minerality-rock powder, limestone, volcanics and just drying top soil, dry tobacco, sandalwood, perfectly executed baking spices, dark spice, vanillin, withering dark, red, blue and violets, nice round acidity, nice tension, structure, well knitted & balanced structure with an excellent full minute finish.

Pano photo of Pritchard Hill from the estate (what a stunning view), barrel room, the estates wine collection; which given the excellent producers in it (bottles of Petrus just one of very expensive producers), I’d be a little earthquake nervous & lay some thin wire over the bottles to hold them in place and their tank room. — 3 months ago

Veronica Wisniewski

9.0

Not overly dry, fruity — 3 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

The nose reveals, bright red and dark ripe, floral fruits. Blackberries, dark cherries, blackberries, black plum, sweet tarry notes, black licorice, vanilla, steeped black tea, funky earthiness, dark berry cola, dry crushed rock powder and dark red florals and violets.

The body is medium with tannins that are teethy, tarry and a little meaty. Ripe, floral; blackberries, dark cherries, blackberries and black plum. Sweet tarry notes, black licorice, vanilla, steeped black tea, funky earthiness, dark berry cola, dry crushed rock powder, grainy volcanic minerals, rich black earth, dark red florals with violets. The acidity bright & lively. The finish is leaner than in most Napa Cabernets, well balanced, fresh and nicely polished.

Photos of, their Estate property, our tasting, barrels not rocked by the 14 earthquake and another on of their Napa vineyards. — 5 years ago

LoveofCheese&Wine

9.2

Bold, easy drinking. Opened at home w some lentil pasta. Def buy again bottle! — 4 months ago

with Jrod

J

9.2

Pinkish Italian wine, very well developed. Reminds me of a rombauer or earthquake zin. Solid. Only drink if you want something deep, rich, and complex. Pairs very well with green grapes and crackers, but not a dry aged steak or seafood. Not a heavy drinking wine.

$80
— 9 months ago

Mark Flesher

9.1

You gotta give this bottle some time. After the cork was popped, this one had a pretty funky tart characteristic to it and a metallic kind of character and acidity that was a little off-putting. After 30 minutes, totally different wine. Just ripened black cherry and oregano notes dominate the palate and the entry. Medium bodied wine. Not really all that complex. Nide acidity on the finish..some black pepper and cola. Went much better with Asian StirFry than it did alone. I think I will try to save the other bottle for a couple of years. — 5 years ago

Rachael Humerickhouse

9.5

Great wine! Merry Christmas! — 5 years ago