Château Lynch-Bages

His father John emigrated in 1691 from Galway, Ireland to Bordeaux, inherited an estate in the village of Bages through his wife, Elizabeth, in 1749.

Jean-Baptiste soon handed over supervision to his brother Michel who maintained responsibility for the Bages estate until 1824, when the family sold it to a Swiss wine merchant, Sebastien Jurine, who had recently moved to Bordeaux.

They established Châteaux & Associés, which Cazes ran until he reached 65, and which by the end of the twentieth century owned many vineyards across Europe.

There is also a small (approximately 4.5 ha (11 acres)) plot planted with white varieties (40% Semillon, 40% Sauvignon blanc and 20% Muscadelle).

The malolactic fermentation takes place mainly in large stainless steel tanks, and the wine then spends about 15 months in oak barrels (of which some 50-60% are new) before bottling.