1 dozen bottlesper lot
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Château Mouton Rothschild
Chateau Mouton-Rothschild stands alone in its feat of being the only chateau of the 1855 Médoc Classification to change status. While this classification purported to consider only market prices in its framework, the exclusion of Mouton from the ranks of the four other premiers grand crus classés reeked of bias. The château was certainly of high pedigree, making its first appearance in a Christie's catalogue in 1834. The new English owner Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild was dissatisfied, but only when his son Philippe took the helm in 1922 were serious strides made.
A few years after this appointment, the young Baron Philippe proposed château bottling for all the first growths and Mouton-Rothschild itself, ensuring greater quality control. Mouton was the first to achieve château bottling of a harvest in 1924. The Baron diligently worked towards correcting what he called "the monstrous injustice." Overcoming the inertia of a system steeped in tradition, politics and tremendous wealth, Mouton was reclassified from a second to a first growth in 1973 after Philippe de Rothschild's 51 year campaign. Despite rumors that persist each year, no other has achieved a promotion or even demotion since.
Château Mouton-Rothschild--Vintage 1986
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
Parcel: lots 55-57
"After stumbling over some wines I thought were high class Bordeaux, I nailed this wine in one of the blind tastings for this article. In most tastings where a great Bordeaux is inserted with California Cabernets, the Bordeaux comes across as drier, more austere, and not nearly as rich and concentrated (California wines are inevitably fruitier and more massive). To put it mildly, the 1986 Mouton-Rothschild held its own (and then some), in a flight that included the Caymus Special Selection, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23, Dunn Howell Mountain, and Joseph Phelps Eisele Vineyard. Clearly the youngest looking, most opaque and concentrated wine of the group, it tastes as if it has not budged in development since I first tasted it out of barrel in March, 1987. An enormously concentrated, massive Mouton-Rothschild, comparable in quality, but not style, to the 1982, 1959, and 1945, this impeccably made wine is still in its infancy. Interestingly, when I was in Bordeaux several years ago, I had this wine served to me blind from a magnum that had been opened and decanted 48 hours previously. Even then, it still tasted like a barrel sample! I suspect the 1986 Mouton-Rothschild requires a minimum of 15-20 more years of cellaring; it has the potential to last for 50-100 years! Given the outrageously high prices being fetched by so many of the great 1982s and 1990s (and lest I forget, the 1995 Bordeaux futures), it appears this wine might still be one of the "relative bargains" in the fine wine marketplace. I wonder how many readers will be in shape to drink it when it does finally reach full maturity? The tasting notes for this section are from two single blind tastings, one conducted in May, 1996, in California, and the other in June, 1996, in Baltimore." Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #106 (Aug 1996)
1 dozen bottlesper lot
Chateau Mouton-Rothschild stands alone in its feat of being the only chateau of the 1855 Médoc Classification to change status. While this classification purported to consider only market prices in its framework, the exclusion of Mouton from the ranks of the four other premiers grand crus classés reeked of bias. The château was certainly of high pedigree, making its first appearance in a Christie's catalogue in 1834. The new English owner Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild was dissatisfied, but only when his son Philippe took the helm in 1922 were serious strides made.
A few years after this appointment, the young Baron Philippe proposed château bottling for all the first growths and Mouton-Rothschild itself, ensuring greater quality control. Mouton was the first to achieve château bottling of a harvest in 1924. The Baron diligently worked towards correcting what he called "the monstrous injustice." Overcoming the inertia of a system steeped in tradition, politics and tremendous wealth, Mouton was reclassified from a second to a first growth in 1973 after Philippe de Rothschild's 51 year campaign. Despite rumors that persist each year, no other has achieved a promotion or even demotion since.
Château Mouton-Rothschild--Vintage 1986
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
Parcel: lots 55-57
"After stumbling over some wines I thought were high class Bordeaux, I nailed this wine in one of the blind tastings for this article. In most tastings where a great Bordeaux is inserted with California Cabernets, the Bordeaux comes across as drier, more austere, and not nearly as rich and concentrated (California wines are inevitably fruitier and more massive). To put it mildly, the 1986 Mouton-Rothschild held its own (and then some), in a flight that included the Caymus Special Selection, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23, Dunn Howell Mountain, and Joseph Phelps Eisele Vineyard. Clearly the youngest looking, most opaque and concentrated wine of the group, it tastes as if it has not budged in development since I first tasted it out of barrel in March, 1987. An enormously concentrated, massive Mouton-Rothschild, comparable in quality, but not style, to the 1982, 1959, and 1945, this impeccably made wine is still in its infancy. Interestingly, when I was in Bordeaux several years ago, I had this wine served to me blind from a magnum that had been opened and decanted 48 hours previously. Even then, it still tasted like a barrel sample! I suspect the 1986 Mouton-Rothschild requires a minimum of 15-20 more years of cellaring; it has the potential to last for 50-100 years! Given the outrageously high prices being fetched by so many of the great 1982s and 1990s (and lest I forget, the 1995 Bordeaux futures), it appears this wine might still be one of the "relative bargains" in the fine wine marketplace. I wonder how many readers will be in shape to drink it when it does finally reach full maturity? The tasting notes for this section are from two single blind tastings, one conducted in May, 1996, in California, and the other in June, 1996, in Baltimore." Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #106 (Aug 1996)
1 dozen bottlesper lot
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