1 bottle per lot
Details
Château Mouton-Rothschild--Vintage 1943
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
Level: mid shoulder, wartime glass, heavily damp soiled label, healthy colour
"In the Baron's absence, the château was assiduously looked after by an old lady retainer. Baron Philippe, whose wife died in a concentration camp, was not at the château during the war. The '43 Mouton had to wait until August 1946 to be bottled, and they were still having to use relatively poor quality wartime corks. I first tasted the wine, a bottle from a good private cellar in Australia, in 1975. It was unappealing. It is curious that I have drunk so many good bottles of Mouton at Ch Lafite, the '43 being no exception. At a Sunday lunch in March 1983: uncorked at 10AM and poured at 1:30PM to accompany soft brown eggs presented on a wicker-work tray and served with 'soldiers' of toast by a white gloved man servant, the Mouton was undeterred: a magnificent vibrant colous; a whiff of bottle stink which soon cleared to reveal a wonderful spiciness, subsiding by 3:30pm, the end of lunch. A lovely, flavoury mouthful. Three years later, another attractive bottle, its nose opening up, positively belching, a Mouton characteristic cassis fragrance and inimitable flavour. Last tasted April 1986 ***** MB, Vintage Wine
1 bottle per lot
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
Level: mid shoulder, wartime glass, heavily damp soiled label, healthy colour
"In the Baron's absence, the château was assiduously looked after by an old lady retainer. Baron Philippe, whose wife died in a concentration camp, was not at the château during the war. The '43 Mouton had to wait until August 1946 to be bottled, and they were still having to use relatively poor quality wartime corks. I first tasted the wine, a bottle from a good private cellar in Australia, in 1975. It was unappealing. It is curious that I have drunk so many good bottles of Mouton at Ch Lafite, the '43 being no exception. At a Sunday lunch in March 1983: uncorked at 10AM and poured at 1:30PM to accompany soft brown eggs presented on a wicker-work tray and served with 'soldiers' of toast by a white gloved man servant, the Mouton was undeterred: a magnificent vibrant colous; a whiff of bottle stink which soon cleared to reveal a wonderful spiciness, subsiding by 3:30pm, the end of lunch. A lovely, flavoury mouthful. Three years later, another attractive bottle, its nose opening up, positively belching, a Mouton characteristic cassis fragrance and inimitable flavour. Last tasted April 1986 ***** MB, Vintage Wine
1 bottle per lot