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.

Moncharm

Chateau Calon Segur 2000 Tasting

I shared this bottle with some of my colleagues at Moncharm- out of working hours of course!

Against the advice of my father that I should wait a good few years to drink this, I decided to try it as we do have another few bottles of this stored and I thought it would be a good comparison to drink them over the years and see how it evolves in time. We decanted this at around 4pm as this wine is still very much in its youth and needed a chance to open up.

Upon tasting I could tell the wine easily needs five plus years in the bottle as it was very closed up and had a very tannic finish to it. In time this wine will undoubtedly have its chance to shine as there is a very good balance between acidity and tannins. It just needs time. I look forward to drinking it again in the future.

The Calon Segur needs more time in the bottle 

Tasting Notes

Calon Segur 2000 bottle (75cl)

Time Opened: 16.00pm

Time Consumed:20.30pm onwards

Colour: Ruby

Nose: Tobacco, Graphite, Cedar

Comments: “Very very tannic” "Closed Up"

Final Comments:  

Although this sparked much debate among my colleagues at Moncharm, I am a firm believer after drinking this bottle that I should have listened to my father’s advice as I found this bottle to be somewhat of a disappointment drinking it so young but I am also sure that given time this will turn out be an excellent bottle of claret. I would strongly urge anyone considering popping the cork on this third growth St.Estephe to hold off their temptation for at least another five years