Chateau Lynch-Moussas Pauillac 2008 750ml

The 2008 Lynch Moussas, 23% Merlot and 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, has an attractive, classically styled bouquet with satisfactory, conservative tobacco infused black fruit and cedar scents. There is commendable freshness and focus here. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, good body, a tad stocky and broad-shouldered towards the finish that shows just a touch of dryness. However, this 2008 has matured perhaps better than I expected and it should continue to give another decade’s worth of drinking pleasure. (Tasted at the château and at BI Wine & Spirit’s annual vertical tasting.)

• Country: France
• Region: Bordeaux
• Appellation: Pauillac
• Size: 750ml
• Color: Red

Varietal

Red Bordeaux

There are few regions in the world with stricter regulations in regards to wine production and grape varietals than those found in Bordeaux, France. Here, in the home of the world’s finest wines, the type and quality of grapes used is of utmost importance, and the legendary wineries which work on the banks of the Gironde river have mastered the careful art of juice blending to find the perfect balance for their produce. Whilst there are six ‘official’ Bordeaux grapes, the two key varietals for almost every fine Bordeaux wine are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and with good reason. Whilst Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are renowned for their acidity and astringency, strong fruit and spice flavors and full body, Merlot grapes are notably rounded, soft, fleshy and lighter on tannin. The combination of these two varietals, along with a small percentage of (commonly) Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc, is the perfect balancing act ”“ the two grape varietals cancel out each others weaker points, and accentuate all that is good about the other.