Tasting at Mark Taylor's in ATL - Day Two Mouton Rothschild

The final day of Mark’s tasting was a celebration of Chateau Mouton Rothschild. We had some great examples. All were from the time of the elevation forward.
Superb! Thanks Mark.

Again, we knew all six wines but were blinded as to what was in the glass. One was double blind. Mark has a lot of these first growths so he always invites 30 people and opens two bottles. The bottle variation will sometimes surprise you with the older ones. The younger ones are very consistent.

Flight One

Glass 1 - The aromatics here are soaring. Intense. Cedar. Fruits. Some coffee. So sexy. Hard to put into words. This is a very special nose. The palate is incredible. There is fantastic balance. A length that is first growth special. Truly amazing and a rare opportunity. My guess was 1982.

Glass 2 - The nose on our wine (there were 2 bottles for 30 people) was oxidized. The other side of the table however had a really wonderful wine. Older aromas. Smoky in a way. Very precise too even with all the age. The palate shows resolved with some finishing dry tannin. A treat! My guess 1975.

Glass 3 – Very tight on the opening. The nose is intense dark fruit mixed with some coffee and spice. The finish is long and there is really great intensity. Young and very good. My guess is 1995.

Glass 4- Effusive nose of dark fruit, coffee, cedar shavings and a really sexy spice. Very precise. The palate is still showing young. The balance is the star here. It is so precise and so long. Amazing. My guess was 1985.

Glass 5- Dense dark fruit. The nose takes a lot of coaxing. The palate is so dense on the mid palate. So complex with swirling. Fabulous length. A baby. I guessed 1986.

Glass 6 - Old wine. There is some salvageable note on the back palate but this one has seen better days. This was double blind. I have no idea. (I should have guessed it however knowing Mark’s cellar)


1. 1985 Mouton Rothschild
2. 1975 Mouton Rothschild
3. 1995 Mouton Rothschild
4. 1982 Mouton Rothschild
5. 1986 Mouton Rothschild
6. 1973 Mouton Rothschild (Picasso Bottle - First year of elevation)

Great flight!


Flight Two

Younger Wines


Glass 1- This is so powerful. Dark fruits. Coffee. Intense. Gorgeous balance with incredible length. Fantastic. My guess was 2000.

Glass 2- Wonderful mouthfeel. Tannic. Lighter vintage but all the components are there. Very long. My guess was 2001.

Glass 3- This opens with lots of coconut notes. Candied. VERY young. Very primary on the nose and palate. Incredibly dense and will be incredibly good.
My guess was 2003.

Glass 4- Medium concentrated. This one is aromatically nice. Wonderful balance with a very long finish. Less power and more finesse. My guess was 2002.

Glass 5- Very dense. Primary nose and palate. There is a special complexity here and length that is hard to describe. Very long. Exquisite. My guess was 2005.

Glass 6- Medium density. Great nose which is just showing a little secondary character. Lots of coffee however. The palate is fantastic with a long finish. Wonderful. My guess was 1996.


1. 2002 Mouton Rothschild
2. 1996 Mouton Rothschild
3. 2003 Mouton Rothschild
4. 2001 Mouton Rothschild
5. 2005 Mouton Rothschild
6. 2000 Mouton Rothschild

A few surprises but all of these young ones are first growth quality to me. Wonderful.

Thanks again to Mark for assembling such a great collection of wines and people to enjoy them. A special couple of days.

You did very well indeed single-blind, mon ami! Wow, such a great showing for the 2002, looks like. Glad you had this opportunity. Who else was at this one? Usual suspects?

All best from the gang here—Dave and I are joining Mark Rushton, Ken Bereskin and a few others for a fun night on Friday.

Mike

Mike. Roy was in town. Todd French. Gary came in on the second day for this one.
A nice tasting. Say Hi to Dave for me!

I need to post my notes, too - on the ‘to do’ list…

Thanks again for sharing the notes. Good to see where 1996 is at today.

I’m looking forward to sampling the 1995 tonight as part of a '95 horizontal that we’re having.

Great notes and outstanding lineup. The 2002 looks like quite the sleeper

2002 strikes again…hahaha…love it when this vintage shines

Like '04…underrated

I had the honor of sitting next to Don for this tasting. I’ll copy/paste his revealing of the true vintages on both tastings.

FLIGHT ONE

Glass 1: Absolutely gorgeous nose, spruce, red and dark cherries, saddle, so complex, very elegant red and blue fruits on the palate, but still slightly reserved, not yet developed or at peak. I guessed '82

Glass 2: Madeirized (our glass/bottle) After a sip of the ‘real’ one, it is very fresh on the nose, bright fruits yet the color shows definite age, though not as much as ours. I guessed the ‘mystery’, without guessing a vintage

Glass 3: (this one was the one I spoke on, so the notes are more extensive) Color is a rich red, still a hint of purple, looks fairly young in comparison. Interesting perfumed quality on this, a bit different than the others. Beautiful rose petals come through, a leather that’s not really a rustic one like saddle, but more of a supple leather. Extremely elegant, fairly big structure both big on acid and super fine tannins that emerge at the tail end. Fruit is either tight/light or closed down, and by the blast of dusty tannins and the lack of integration, I’d guess the latter, so I went with '95

Glass 4: Another beautiful nose, a bit heartier than some others, a hint of bullion. Sweeter fruits, really nice mouthfeel, the tannins are more resolved and integrated - at or near peak. I guessed '85

Glass 5: Very fresh nose, nice weighty mouthfeel. A bigger profile overall, seamless but still a bit primary. I guessed '86

Glass 6: Quite pruned, super light and browned edges. I guessed '75

1. 1985 Mouton Rothschild
2. 1975 Mouton Rothschild
3. 1995 Mouton Rothschild
4. 1982 Mouton Rothschild
5. 1986 Mouton Rothschild
6. 1973 Mouton Rothschild (Picasso Bottle - First year of elevation)

FLIGHT TWO (I guessed these all correctly, so I’m not including my guesses after the notes)

Glass 1: Interesting toasty meatiness on the nose, but a bit reticent. Nice blast of sweetness of the fruit on the fore palate, but some heat. Sweet fruit and heat makes me think a warm vintage, but not hot as the fruit isn’t overly ripe and the color still has some purple.

Glass 2: Big of age on this one, lighter edges with some bricking, hint of stewed fruit on the nose. Elegant red and blue fruits, fantastic finish. In a great space now

Glass 3: Smells almost like a Pontet Canet, a bit modern, which is not like the others (at this point, I immediately figured this for '03). Bit of vanilla, coffee, silky mouthfeel, big beautiful finish, but not stereotypical Mouton IMO

Glass 4: Bluer fruits, pepper on the nose, nice perfume but also a bit of heat. A bit more astringency yet weighty as well, tannins so dusty and fine, fruit seems a tiny bit ripe.

Glass 5: Brighter florals, a little more rustic than the others as well. Fruit is beautiful and seems to have all the components for a fantastic wine, not yet integrated. Decades of time left on this one.

Glass 6: A bit smoky, color looks older than all but 2 of these, fruit is on the leaner side in terms of sweetness but it goes on forever - very nice wine, great finish.

1. 2002 Mouton Rothschild
2. 1996 Mouton Rothschild
3. 2003 Mouton Rothschild
4. 2001 Mouton Rothschild
5. 2005 Mouton Rothschild
6. 2000 Mouton Rothschild

Wow, Todd. For someone who didn’t seem to have a clue at FallTacular about tasting wine…

Just tweaking your nose, buddy—well done indeed! Great notes, pleasure to see 'em. And thrilled that you’re getting around so much and having the chance to see so many of the WB crew. Keep it up!

I’m still hoping to catch up with you and the gang again for a night in May when I’m back out there.

Don and the Atlanta crew… Along with FallTacular, the one trip I try to make every single year.

Best,

Mike

So Don and Todd - worth opening a bottle of the 2002 Mouton? I have 3, and your notes seem a little different on whether it’s truly pleasurable right now.

Falltacular is not an academic tasting, I’m there to hang out and enjoy myself! When I buckle down, I win medals.

I was more enthralled by the '01, myself, which was my WOTF (though ALL of them were spectacular), but the '02 was the group’s favorite, so that should tell you to crack it (i’m guessing the other side of the table had a slightly better bottle than ours, as the entire side, nearly, voted it #1 of the flight)! Overall, though, the '02’s we had this weekend (Pichon Lalande and Montrose, as well as Mouton) were really among my favorites every time we had one, so I’d feel confident in it, though it’s still young.

Thanks. Didn’t know that you had different bottles. Makes more sense with that info.

So I see. Looks like it’s time for me to get back to the custom T-shirt store for something to bring out with me

David,
I loved all the 02s both days. They are really drinking well even if quite young.

Sounds like the 85 is the one to hunt down.

Definitely. The whole room was shocked it was not the '82 - fantastic wine.

Awesome tasting. Id expect nothing less from the Atlanta contingency. Love the blind aspect and excellent match ups on Dons part. Thanks for the notes and vicarious thrills.

Blake,
Todd had 100% on his guesses of the young ones this time. Another medal for him. He really seems to grasp the young ones and knows the vintages. It is a fun format and a real treat to get to taste and discuss with some really knowledgable guys. Thanks for the kind words. I hope to see you soon.

!00% is quite impressive to say the least. I always enjoy the learning experience of doing this kind of format not to mention the quality of the wines being tasted. Great event.
All the best Don.