Benchmark Wines by
Mouton Rothschild
The Winery
Château Mouton Rothschild
"Premier Je suis, Second Je fus, Mouton ne change.
(First I am, second I was, but Mouton does not change)"
- Baron Phillipe de Rothschild
This was the Baron’s response to Mouton being denied First Growth Bordeaux status initially, and then promoted to the desired classification in 1973. Baron Phillipe de Rothschild is the father of many great French wine estates, including Mouton, Lafite la Muete, Rieussec and L’Evangile, to name a few. Mouton hails from Pauillac in the Medoc region, and is known to be among the elitist wines of the world along with Lafite, d’Yquem and DRC.
A bottle of Mouton is a piece of history, because even the most recent vintages boast a heritage that battled drought, disease, frost, and the Second World War. Rothschild survived, though he lost his wife at the time in 1945 (Elizabeth de Rothschild), who did not survive a concentration camp. Anyone can appreciate the history here, and it’s impossible to ignore the artwork that adorns it. Each vintage, an artist is commissioned to create a new, special label for the wines of Mouton. Some of the names most recognizable include Warhol, Picasso, Chagall, Kandinsky, Dali and even Prince Charles of Wales. To praise the wines would be redundant- stylistically flashy, vibrant, intense mineral and tobacco flavors and opulent. Mouton IS luxury.
Tasting Notes
- WS98
- Gorgeous, with singed alder and juniper notes starting to strut their stuff, while the immense core of steeped red currant, blackberry and plum fruit continues to wait in reserve. A light sanguine thread weaves in on the back end, which is driven by…
- WA98
- The 2005 Château Mouton-Rothschild is a deeply impressive First Growth. It has been blessed with a sensational nose that comes racing out of the blocks with audacious scents of black fruit, cedar, smoke and pencil box (Philippe Dhalluin mentioned that the signature smokiness/fireside hearth was tangible in around 80% of the vats during élevage). There is a sense of bravura here, of aristocracy. The palate is medium-bodied with sumptuous black fruit, perhaps beginning to soften in texture, one or two years off its plateau. There are layers and layers of black fruit intermingling with graphite and black pepper, and it wisely reins everything in on the finish that is more classic in style and in keeping with the vintage. If you are fortunate enough to have this wine in your cellar, even though those tannins are starting to be abraded by time, afford it another five or six years. Tasted August 2016.
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