Moncharm Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2003 tasting

Side by side the Mouton Rothschild 2003 & Pavie 2000

I tasted this alongside the second bottle of Chateau Pavie 2000 with my colleagues at Moncharm accompanied by a lovely rib eye steak. I have to say the Mouton suited the steak a lot better and I must confess I spent most of the main course captivated by it. I was surprised by how well it was drinking which is of course rare for a Mouton this young, although it had a long time in the decanter beforehand which no doubt helped its cause.

The nose offers up fabulous nuances of black fruit, coffee and a hint of leather. On the palate this wine is very seductive almost putting me into a trance like state with plenty of cassis and blackcurrant showing and a powerful finish with tantalizingly silky tannins. It is not that often that I get a chance to drink Mouton Rothschild and I would go so far as to say this is easily one of my favorites from the bottles I have drunk. This bottle really made me work very hard to delve into its structure and complexity which was nothing short of sheer class. It was also the winner of the night for me, only just beating the Chateau Pavie.

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Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2004 Tasting

I tasted this over Sunday lunch with the family. First of all the bottle looks like it’s a wine bottle on steroids: very wide shoulders on it compared to the classic shape claret bottle of the Mouton Rothschild 1982.

A bottle on steroids the Mouton Rothschild 2004

Artwork by Prince Charles

We decanted it for roughly an hour before consumption and during the time it took to drink it didn’t do much in the glass. Although it was pleasant, it seemed to fade away a bit towards the end of the bottle. Saying that, the Mouton 2004 is drinking surprisingly well considering it’s age but it has a long life left ahead of it still with great length on the palate, lovely fruits and silky tannin. On the nose there is lots of classic cedar, dark fruit and graphite. There is a lovely rounded finish on the palate. This Mouton is intense and quite complex with tannin balanced by the fruit and acidity. I feel it will only get better with time and at some point I have no doubt it will become excellent. Enjoyable to drink right now but better left to cellar at least for a few more years. A typical young Mouton.

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Moncharm Wine Tasting 25th December 2010

For my first post I have had to dust off my tasting notes from two years ago although the event remains vividly in my mind as it is only once in a blue moon so to speak that i would be so fortunate enough to taste one of the great legends of Bordeaux. Over the comming months i will be updating this blog with more recent tastings and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as i have enjoyed tasting them.

Wine Tasting 25th December 2010

Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1982 Artwork by John Huston

It was a strange somber Christmas morning in our household this year, the reason? Sitting upon our seasonally appointed “Christmas wine table” was a bottle of the legendary Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1982. I couldn’t help thinking back to the previous weeks occurrences that it was nothing short of a miracle that this bottle with its beautiful artwork by John Huston was even here at all! The heavy snowfall in the weeks leading up to Christmas had left me nervous after two failed attempts to deliver our wine. However as luck would have it the gods must have been smiling on us as a final third attempt proved successful with just one day to spare until Christmas Eve. Special mention has to go to our very own wine buyer Harry Wilkinson and the logistics team at Moncharm for their tireless efforts to get this bottle delivered in time for Christmas. Thanks!

I stood there watching in anticipation as my father (an avid Bordeaux enthusiast) opened the bottle with great care and whilst this was happening there was only one phrase running through my mind “Please don’t let it be corked!” “Please don’t let it be corked” My Father took one look at me and said with a Cheshire cat like grin sprawled across his face “it could only be Mouton.”

This magnificent looking bottle of 82 was to be put up against a magnum of Mouton Rothschild 1985 on which the cork was unfortunately on it’s way out! Fortunately this shook off its musky odor once decanted and in hindsight it was very lucky that we were drinking this tonight as, had it been left another year it would almost certainly have been ruined!

Tasting Notes

1982 Mouton Rothschild Bottle (75cl)

Time Opened: 14.00pm

Colour: Redcurrant red

Nose: Redcurrant,tobbacco,cedar

Palate: Blackcurrant,raspberries,redcurrants,tobbacco and cedar wood

Comments:

“Perfect tannin vs. acidity balance”, “huge fat”, “I can still taste it on the palate after two minuets!!”

“It just goes on and on and on, a beautiful wine”

“Clearly a Mouton never to be forgotten it makes the 1985 appear pedestrian in comparison”

“So so young this wine tastes like it could go on forever!”

1985 Mouton Rothschild Magnum Bottle (1.5l)
Time Opened: 14.10pm

Colour: Garnet red, beginning to amber around the rim.

Nose: Mature, slightly musty cork, after an hour beggining to open up with a strong smell of blackcurrants.

Palate: Sweet fruit, tannin, acidity, balance, great length, a beautiful wine with soft tannin.


Final Comments:

Both the Mouton’s were superb in their own right, although I personally found the 1982 quite a challenge to drink (a trait that I have found to be consistent with the whole Vintage that I have tasted so far) early on as it didn’t taste how a typical Mouton should and in hindsight if I am ever fortunate enough to drink a bottle again I would decant it for a lot longer!

The Mouton 1985 was a fabulous wine just about reaching is peak of maturity. It is drinking beautifully right now and although on this occasion it was slightly overshadowed by the legendary 82 it is by no means inferior and I would recommend it as essential drinking for any Bordeaux enthusiast.


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