1 double-magnum per lot
Details
Château Mouton-Rothschild
If Lafite is defined by its austere kind of elegance, Latour by its tannic muscularity, Margaux by its extreme finesse, then Mouton is defined by its sheer opulence, its massive amount of ripe Cabernet fruit and its seductive cedar-woody aromas. You don't need to dig around in the glass for long looking for hidden complexities : they jump out of the glass at you. This is possibly the reason I have served more Mouton than any other First Growth, when the occasion called for a great wine, especially to non-connoisseurs. It was always a safe bet. And for my tasting visits en primeur, it was the easiest to understand : for all the other Firsts, you would leave the tasting feeling not quite sure of your conclusions whereas when you left the cellar at Mouton, you had all the sensations still in your mouth and could immediately agree on its quality with your co-tasters.
In March 1983, I was nervous about the quality of the '82s. This may sound strange today but at the time, there was a lot of questioning in Bordeaux whether this was a great vintage or just a fake Napa. I went to Mouton to taste with Raoul Blondin. Every time I have doubts, I seek the guidance of the older people and Blondin's first vintage had been...the 1924. He had me taste from several barrels. I was bowled over. I asked him if he thought it was great wine and he replied I had better believe it was, and if I had access to a bottle of '61, I should open it that evening with the taste of the '82 still in my mouth. I obeyed and then proceeded, in this first year of my own business, to bet the farm on the vintage. What a great man : I owe him and Mouton a lot.
It is generally acknowledged that Mouton's claim to its recent glory started in the mid 2000s. This therefore does not concern the vintages of this offer, which are more up-and-down but reflect a very good period for Mouton following what is considered to be a less good series in the 70s. Edmund Penning-Rowsell, in his final tome, put Mouton first of the Firsts in the 80s. The late 80s and the 90s were a period of upheaval and change at Mouton, the flamboyant Baron Philippe dying in 1988, Raoul Blondin retiring a year later and there was a varied succession of winemakers from the very traditional Michel Boscq to the very innovative M Liner to the very hands-on Eric Tourbier. In addition, the vineyard was said to have sufferred more than others from the terrible frost of 21st April 1991 and took more time to recover. There ensued several experiments in the cellar with warmer post-fermentation macerations, with some malo-lactic in barrel and some lees contact during élevage, which, when added to the quite heavy barrel toasting of the time, may have just taken the edge off its absolute quality.
The '88 started off as Mouton usually does : tarry, opulent and fat and then fined down rapidly into a much more tensile style. I always considered it to be the last of the more tannic Moutons of the 70s and 80s : very impressive and dominated by their tannins. The '89 and '90 seemed to bear this out, being much softer and smoother, as did the '91, subdued and soft en primeur then acquiring more grip later (after all, it did contain 20% press wine). In the off years of '92, '93 and '94, Mouton clearly outperformed, with a dark form of concentration that were very unusual for these lighter vintages. Over time, I have conflicting notes on the '95, sometimes thickly Cabernet-Sauvignon styled, at other times tighter and drier. I need to taste it again. But I feel no need to re-taste the '96 which was always dense, full-styled and roasted. The '97 has always been a deep, hot wine for such an uneven vintage, whilst the '98, which tasted a bit hollow at first en primeur, then got invaded by a swathe of classic Mouton smokey tarriness. It was extracted for a long time and had a very high proportion of Cabernet-Sauvignon (86%). The '99 always seemed to me completely the opposite, if anything under-extracted, full from its aromatics rather than its structure. The '00, in that engraved bottle that I find looks a million dollars, is back to a fatter, richer style, brimming with flavours of spicy oak and ripe fruit and, to sum up, for me just represents....Mouton
Château Mouton-Rothschild 1988
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
In original wooden case. Good appearance. Level: into-neck
1 double-magnum per lot
If Lafite is defined by its austere kind of elegance, Latour by its tannic muscularity, Margaux by its extreme finesse, then Mouton is defined by its sheer opulence, its massive amount of ripe Cabernet fruit and its seductive cedar-woody aromas. You don't need to dig around in the glass for long looking for hidden complexities : they jump out of the glass at you. This is possibly the reason I have served more Mouton than any other First Growth, when the occasion called for a great wine, especially to non-connoisseurs. It was always a safe bet. And for my tasting visits en primeur, it was the easiest to understand : for all the other Firsts, you would leave the tasting feeling not quite sure of your conclusions whereas when you left the cellar at Mouton, you had all the sensations still in your mouth and could immediately agree on its quality with your co-tasters.
In March 1983, I was nervous about the quality of the '82s. This may sound strange today but at the time, there was a lot of questioning in Bordeaux whether this was a great vintage or just a fake Napa. I went to Mouton to taste with Raoul Blondin. Every time I have doubts, I seek the guidance of the older people and Blondin's first vintage had been...the 1924. He had me taste from several barrels. I was bowled over. I asked him if he thought it was great wine and he replied I had better believe it was, and if I had access to a bottle of '61, I should open it that evening with the taste of the '82 still in my mouth. I obeyed and then proceeded, in this first year of my own business, to bet the farm on the vintage. What a great man : I owe him and Mouton a lot.
It is generally acknowledged that Mouton's claim to its recent glory started in the mid 2000s. This therefore does not concern the vintages of this offer, which are more up-and-down but reflect a very good period for Mouton following what is considered to be a less good series in the 70s. Edmund Penning-Rowsell, in his final tome, put Mouton first of the Firsts in the 80s. The late 80s and the 90s were a period of upheaval and change at Mouton, the flamboyant Baron Philippe dying in 1988, Raoul Blondin retiring a year later and there was a varied succession of winemakers from the very traditional Michel Boscq to the very innovative M Liner to the very hands-on Eric Tourbier. In addition, the vineyard was said to have sufferred more than others from the terrible frost of 21st April 1991 and took more time to recover. There ensued several experiments in the cellar with warmer post-fermentation macerations, with some malo-lactic in barrel and some lees contact during élevage, which, when added to the quite heavy barrel toasting of the time, may have just taken the edge off its absolute quality.
The '88 started off as Mouton usually does : tarry, opulent and fat and then fined down rapidly into a much more tensile style. I always considered it to be the last of the more tannic Moutons of the 70s and 80s : very impressive and dominated by their tannins. The '89 and '90 seemed to bear this out, being much softer and smoother, as did the '91, subdued and soft en primeur then acquiring more grip later (after all, it did contain 20% press wine). In the off years of '92, '93 and '94, Mouton clearly outperformed, with a dark form of concentration that were very unusual for these lighter vintages. Over time, I have conflicting notes on the '95, sometimes thickly Cabernet-Sauvignon styled, at other times tighter and drier. I need to taste it again. But I feel no need to re-taste the '96 which was always dense, full-styled and roasted. The '97 has always been a deep, hot wine for such an uneven vintage, whilst the '98, which tasted a bit hollow at first en primeur, then got invaded by a swathe of classic Mouton smokey tarriness. It was extracted for a long time and had a very high proportion of Cabernet-Sauvignon (86%). The '99 always seemed to me completely the opposite, if anything under-extracted, full from its aromatics rather than its structure. The '00, in that engraved bottle that I find looks a million dollars, is back to a fatter, richer style, brimming with flavours of spicy oak and ripe fruit and, to sum up, for me just represents....Mouton
Château Mouton-Rothschild 1988
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
In original wooden case. Good appearance. Level: into-neck
1 double-magnum per lot
Special notice
On lots marked with an + in the catalogue, VAT will be charged at 7.7% on both the premium as well as the hammer price.
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