April 29, 2024 - Cru Crew Wine dinner hosted by Brad England (Mara restaurant at the Four Seasons hotel in Minneapolis, MN.): Served alongside '61 Latour, Lafite, LaMissioin HB and Petrus in a tasting/dininer preceeded by 19 vintages of Ramonet Montrachet. Needless to say, my palate may not be 100% up to par. Although not bought on release this bottle has been in my cellar for more than 50 years. Dark fruited with leather, cedar, eucalyptus on the nose. Medium body and not as rich as the Latour. Finish ok, but not great.
March 23, 2024 - A dazzling example. A bit too coarse and aciditic on the finish for the first 30 minutes but fortunately then relaxed and integrated thereafter to make a near perfect tasting cycle. Astonishingly deep color. Marvelous concentration, deeply fruity. A lovely but evanescent fragrance of mint emerged. As with the greatest old wines it reveals more nuances with each sip. Mesmerizing.
January 13, 2024 - This bottle had a htms fill but a very solid cork. The center was a very deep red with some puce/orange at the rim. The high- intensity nose impressively flashed raspberry puree, plum, chocolate mint patties, and minerals.
In the mouth, this wine was ethereal with light rounded tannin and firm acidity. It was ripe, juicy, balanced, completely integrated and very long. 3+ hours of air before imbibing certainly helped.
Wow, this bottle was nails! While at peak, it would have easily lasted another 10 years.
December 16, 2023 - Astonishingly deep ruby with an orange rim. Gorgeous intensity of black and blue fruit which refuses to fade no matter how long you wait. The bouquet announces the flavors to come but is slightly shy. There’s just the right amount of structure and acidity to make sure the palate never tires of another sip. I don’t know when the ‘61 Mouton will be senescent but it is definitely not now.
November 19, 2023 - Mouton vs Lynch-Bages 1989, 1986, 1966 and 1961 vintages (A collector's home): Decanted for 2 hours, served single blind in a flight of 4 wines. Wine H, My 2nd ranked wine, groups 3rd. Red with a slight browning at the rim, the nose shows mushroom, stewed plums, nuts, herbs and some gravel. Satiny mouth feel, lacks structure and has a beguiling weightless character. The sweet red fruit was well balanced by the texture. Really special. This got better as we let the wine sit, initially I ranked it the second in the flight, but at the end preferred it to the 66 Lynch.
June 3, 2023 - Clean, black fruit.
May 5, 2023 - Boy’s HK trip May 2023: Top 3 wines of the trip for me - Mouton 1961, La Mouline 1983 and SQN Flagrante 2000.
98/99
January 25, 2023 - Tasted side by side with the 1986. Wow! What is there to say about this bottle. Always a little nervous when it comes to very old bottles but this 1961 had clearly been perfectly stored. What a privilege to be able to try this. I think this will still have a long life ahead of it and will be one of the great Moutons along with the 1945 and 1982.
December 16, 2022 - Low fill but a miraculous performer. Beautiful and distinctive nose. 94-95
November 2, 2022 - From a good looking bottle with a HS fill, this wine had a purple/red center and puce/clear rims. Its bright, dark color was very impressive. The medium+ intensity nose put forth plum, roasted meat, Provencal herbs, caramel, and gravel.
In the mouth, this was very refined (despite the deep color) with incredible balance and integrated tannin. It displayed great flavors from an essentially weightless mouth-feel.
While this wine is clearly at its peak, who knows how long it will last at this level. The caveat is, given its refinement, poorly stored bottles become damaged quickly. Drink well stored bottles over the next 10+ years.