Mouton Rothschild vertical 1878-2002

Old Swiss House, Lucerne
Tasted Thursday, February 14, 2019 by sirpat00 with 386 views

Introduction

René Gabriel hosted his officially last (but unofficially second last he said after a few glasses) Mouton Rothschild tasting with bottles sourced from his impressive private cellar (14k bottles, predominantly Bordeaux) where we also stopped by for a brief aperitif (Knoll Riesling Federspiel 2016). The tasting itself took place at the Old Swiss House restaurant. If you ever travel through Lucerne, this place is a must! The oldest bottle from this venerable estate was 1878 (no typo!) and the youngest was 2002 with a couple of Mouton-Baronne Rothschild in the mix.
We all remember Jacques Chirac mostly for his nuclear tests in the Mururoa Atoll in the 90ies, but we should not forget that it was also Jacques Chirac, back then Minister for Agriculture, who elevated Mouton Rothschild to the elite group of first growths!
Unsurprisingly, the wine legends 1982 and 1986 out-shone the rest with and ended joint winners in my view (if you put a gun to my head I'll pick 86, just fyi). But unfortunately I couldn't quite get to the perfect scores I was hoping to witness here (96/97PR). To René Gabriel's credit, there were no bad Bordeaux / Medoc vintages in the line-up. 1966, 1988, 1994 were mediocre, but 1986, 1998, 2002 were all good and 1982, 1990, 2000 outstanding.
The low-light in this line-up was the 1994, but I was disappointed to find me scoring most vintages at meagre 92-93 with only 1990 a tad better (except 82 and 86). Maybe just not my type?

Flight 1 - Welcome flight (1 Note)

Flight 2 - Mouton-Baronne and 1966 Mouton Rothschild (3 Notes)

  • 1966 Château Mouton-Baronne-Philippe 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    A small oxidative touch, but fortunately not yet offensive and even adding a bit to the complexity. Nose otherwise dominated by leathery aromas with only faint fruit. A rather thin palate with an overweight in acidity and still mouth-coating tannins and hardly any fruit left. No doubt well past the peak, in my view.

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  • 1982 Château Mouton-Baronne-Philippe en hommage à Pauline 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Poured from magnum. This was a great showing and testament to the 1982 vintage! Red berries still present as a fruit, but also horse stable and dried herbs. Surprisingly powerful on the palate where firm but well integrated tannins provide for a solid structure.

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  • 1966 Château Mouton Rothschild 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Comes across incredibly young and surprisingly herbal (more eucalyptus than mint I found). Very fresh but ultimately an acidity overhang on the palate with too little depth.

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Flight 3 - 1878 (no typo) (1 Note)

  • 1878 Château Mouton Rothschild 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Incredibly mature obviously, but amazingly still enjoyable! Lots of dark flavours including wet leather, fermented pear, fig and some herbal aromatics in the mix. Definitely thinning out on the palate with not much texture left. Tannins entirely gone. Is this a 95 experience? Clearly not. But just simply the fact that a bottle from the century before last is still contains a liquid that can be consumed and enjoyed is remarkable in itself and deserves a strong score! For some context, it is important to know here that this is from the pre-phylloxera age – a time when tannins were overblown beyond belief. Hence producers back in that day went for very short macerations, hardly longer than for a rosé which means this dark, brownish red juice used to be very light and clear in colour (ever wondered where the term "claret" came from?). While 1878 was allegedly a pretty good vintage, it was probably also thanks to this over-boarding tannins that provided the structure for such amazing aging.

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Flight 4 - The legendary 80ies (3 Notes)

  • 1982 Château Mouton Rothschild 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Fantastic from the onset. Clearly some herbs here, ripe darkish fruit and some fine menthol notes. Relatively high intensity on the nose, but even more on the palate where this juice puts on an opulent show. Fresh acidity and balanced with well integrated, molten tannins and a fresh, leathery finish with the leathery coming even more to the fore over time in the glass. We had this side by side with the 86 which if I had to decide probably beats the 82 at this point in time – but it is a toe to toe race.

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  • 1986 Château Mouton Rothschild 97 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    A chameleon showing different colours every time you revisit the glass. More earth and leather than in the 82 overall. Full bodied with an interesting herbal touch on the palate. Tannins are still tangible and add to an overall muscular structure. This feels like there is still decades of aging potential left in the bottle. There were comments around the table highlighting a faint oxidation, but if so it was not noticeable to me. 82 and 86 were a toe to toe race at this vertical but if you put a gun to my head the 86 was just a whisker better.

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  • 1988 Château Mouton Rothschild 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Leather and horse stable marked their presence most noticeably. Less ripe fruit than other, both older and more recent, vintages. Also some herbal notes but with a greenish sting that I'm not sure was intended. Not as harmonious as I would have wished on the palate.

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Flight 5 - The 90ies (3 Notes)

  • 1990 Château Mouton Rothschild 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    A herbal intensity here proved the main differentiator and also a bit meaty. Overall mid-intensity. Good balance with a slightly alcoholic finish, although that may have to be blamed on the rising room temperature. Solid overall with just slightly too much acidity. Roast and smokey notes emerge over time in the glass.

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  • 1994 Château Mouton Rothschild 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Showing lots of herbal notes, but came across a bit restrained. Heavy on tannins and acidity but a slightly scratchy texture. Clearly solid, no doubt, but also overwhelming currently. Maybe a proper decant could have helped to discipline this bugger.

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  • 1996 Château Mouton Rothschild 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Initially a convincing nose, pretty classic in fact. Mixed berries with few secondary or tertiary aromas. Unfortunately warmed up quite a bit in the glass (a general problem we encountered with the 90ies flight) and became too alcoholic. I initially pencilled down 94, but couldn't verify this hence going with a notch below.

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Flight 6 - 1998-2002 (3 Notes)

  • 1998 Château Mouton Rothschild 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Fresh fruit and slightly smokey on the nose with a herbal angle reminding me of fresh basil. On the palate quite a fruit juice type of character with already great balance, certainly better than some of the older and younger siblings.

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  • 2000 Château Mouton Rothschild 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Riper fruit than other vintage, a bit of menthol and fresh herbs. Not overly complex I found when compared to the other vintages – especially when considering what a great vintage 2000 was.

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  • 2002 Château Mouton Rothschild 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    The herbs are strong in this one, probably most pronounced in this vertical. Lacking intensity, however, maybe in a bad spot currently. On the palate quite rough if not wild. More bottle age will be clearly welcome to soften the edges.

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