Pauillac – 1er grand cru classé
Let me tell you a story :
We were invited to a friend’s house at Cap Ferret for lunch, and we were the last to arrive. Standing proudly on the table was a magnum of red wine. The smiling host said: “I found this in the cellar of the father-in-law, but I have no idea what it is!”
Upon closer examination of the bottle, my dear friend, a specialist in great Bordeaux wines, immediately recognises the Rothschild crest. “Sheep’s side! ” he tells us. But nothing more. No label. Everything leads us to think of an old Mouton.
As a result, after 5 minutes of discussion with the host (this one was not very hard to convince), he decides to open the magnum of his father-in-law who has been in the cellar for a couple of years. We send our best sommelier to do the job. Nothing to do the cork goes off like a rocket in the wine. We decant it so we can empty the magnum. We taste it, always blind. It’s old. Very old. The opinions are unanimous. Someone even suggests swallowing a carafe of port to give it a boost. All we have to do is break the bottle to check the chateau and see what year is hidden on the cork. Suspens …
Château Mouton Rothschild 1954.
Superb.
When you look at the reviews on the internet, it’s a lot of laughs. We’re tasting again. It’s immediately finer. But it’s hard to get a second glass. It’s a laugh.
A great moment of wine.
On the scale of coquetterie :
Jean-Marc Quarin’s notes in the year 2000 are unequivocal :
«Un mauvais été pluvieux a empêché le raisin de mûrir dans de bonnes conditions. La couleur est sombre et ambrée. Le nez sent le caramel et le cèdre. Il est agréable mais sans fruit. Comme pour le 55, l’entrée en bouche est presque sucrée. Le vin offre encore une bonne consistance, mais l’acidité et un assèchement viennent marquer la finale, ce qui est typique d’une acidité volatile plutôt élevée. Un vin d’autrefois pour collectionneurs uniquement.»
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