Mouton Rothschild versus other first growths and second growths

Oslo
Tasted Friday, March 20, 2009 by LWI with 1,215 views

Introduction

Twelve sworn men (including some generous persons with better stocked cellars than others) were assembled to taste Mouton Rothschild versus other first growths and second growths. The mission: how well does it stand up to its classmates and the guys in the grade below? Wines were tasted blind, but the content of each flight was known, and ranged from 1 (best) to 4 (3 in flight with 3 wines) (lowest) anonymously. Most wines had been bought shortly after release and kept in private cellars with active temperature control or passive control, the latter is a perfectly OK solution in many Norwegian homes with underground basements. Wines were decanted for 1-2 hours, except for the last flight – which was served from bottle, with the cork pulled one hour in advance. Serving temperature: about 18C.

Flight 1 - The Light Flight (4 Notes)

Flight 2 - The Potentially Available Flight (4 Notes)

  • 1998 Château Mouton Rothschild 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Dark without almost any browning, no specific core. Oak and fresh on the nose. A little spicy and quite structured. Moderate length. Very good indeed. 93p. Group average: 2.3

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1998 Château Lafite Rothschild 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Darker than the Mouton, almost blueish rim. Round, floral, some notes of eucalyptus (!), structured and elegant. Lots of potential. 94p. Group average: 1.6

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1998 Château Latour Grand Vin 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Dark ruby. Closed – giving away little. More acid than the rest, fresh. Opens up in the glass, good potential. A hint of cork. 92p. Group average: 2.1

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1998 Château Montrose Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

    Some cork on the nose, far less in the mouth, and difficult to evaluate. Moderate length. FLAW. Group average: 4

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Flight 3 - The Allegedly Best Flight (4 Notes)

  • 1990 Château Mouton Rothschild 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    A little more open than the rest, some spice and noticeable oak. Good length, and fresh. Develops in the glass. 95p. Group average: 2.6.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1990 Château Latour Grand Vin 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    The darkest in the flight, only slight development in color. Moderate length (relatively to the others), still somewhat closed. Complex, good finish, but with a slight burned aftertaste. 94p. Group average: 2.6

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1990 Château Montrose 98 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

    Slight orange rim. Fascinating strong nose, a little barnyard to me, sweetish from the beginning to the end. Developed further complexity through the evening. WOTN. 98p. Group average: 1.1

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1990 Château Léoville Barton 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

    Slight development in color. Not much oak, lovely balance and length, fresh. Slightly exotic, not among the most concentrated. 94p Group average: 3.8

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Flight 4 - The Rich Flight (4 Notes)

Flight 5 - The Coarse Flight (4 Notes)

  • 1988 Château Mouton Rothschild 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Some blue tones? Animal fur/barnyard with some oak. Structured and very fine, slightly spicy. Good potential still, with fine fruit beneath the tannins. 96p. Group average: 1.8

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1988 Château Latour Grand Vin 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Dark. Still closed, structured with fine acidity. Tannic. 93+p. Group average: 2.8.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1988 Château Lafite Rothschild 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Some flowers, good tannins, and with little development. Moderate body. 95p. Group average: 1.8

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1988 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Softer than the rest, almost some cooked fruit. Moderate length, and shorter than the other -88s. 91p. Group average: 3.7

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Flight 6 - The Soft Flight (3 Notes)

Then two flights where Mouton Rothschild was absent

Flight 7 - A Mixed Bag of Mature Clarets (3 Notes)

  • 1961 Château Montrose 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

    Mature color. Fresh with moderate body. Scores on its absolutely lovely acidity, and this carries the wine, not the tannins. Exciting, different. 95p.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1966 Château Lynch-Bages 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Lovely, some tea notes. Animal fur, some fresh mushroom. Very good acidity, but a bit short. The nose is by far the best. 93p.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1966 Château Léoville Las Cases 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

    Comforting, but giving away less than the Lynch. Still some fruit notes. Holding on very well. 96p.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Closing

The verdict: The Mouton Rothschild stood up to the test. When tasted blind, it faired better than the second growths and performed equal to or sometimes better than the other first growths. The 1988 vintage did still hold a lot of promise for me, not loosing fruit. The 1998 did also do well, and the -98 west bank should probably be more highly regarded than is the common opinion today – but more research is necessary for a definite conclusion to be drawn. The 1990 outperformed the 1989, and the Montrose 1990 was the WOTN by unanimous vote. Very few corked or off bottles.

×
×