1973 MOUTON

1973 Château Mouton Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (6/4/2017)

Mid-shoulder level. Pop and pour. Explosive nose with smoke, earth and tobacco. Palate was elegant and silky with resolved tannins, plums, earth, and still a little bit dark-fruits. Enjoyable and exciting!

Posted from CellarTracker

Nice note and awesome pic!

First year they officially moved up into the premiere cru classification i believe??

great note and great color on that wine.

And a big surprise considering the vintage and the poor ratings! Erobertparker. Bordeaux Book, 3rd Edition (1998) Robert Parker 65 points Drink through 1982

I’m pleasantly surprised to here that it is holding so nicely still. Here’s my note from 2008:

Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac 1973
Mid to high shoulder fill. A quite respectable medium ruby color going to deep garnet at the edges. A decent and still respectable nose - smells, simply put, like old Bordeaux. Opens nicely over the first 5 - 10 minutes, with a palate of black cherry and blackberry upfront, followed by raspberry, currants, and cassis, with hints of savory spice on a good finish. Still has a good, medium body. A succulent, savory style, and I dare say does show a hint of the Mouton richness and spice. Still has some Pauillac firmness. Despite the fact that this wine has been described as “ungenerous,” I imagine this bottle might have had a reasonable richness in its youth. Moderate to heavy sediment. After fully opening (over 5 - 10 minutes), holds at its best for an additional 5 - 10 minutes before declining a bit and becoming somewhat flat. But in its best moments a very nice and nearly excellent wine - the sort of wine one might describe as a nice ‘luncheon claret.’ Considering the vintage and its age, this wine is in very respectable condition, and is a satisfying experience. Obviously past its peak, and the sooner the better for drinking, but I imagine this would hold in similar condition for another 5 years. 2 Stars [12/29/08]

That’s funny, Barry.

I popped a 1965 Mouton last year, which not only got equally crappy Parker ratings, but also was roughed up on CT by one of my favorite tasters. The bottle I popped was lovely and alive! Drank it with fellow Berserkers, Tooch and MarcF.

Maybe 65 Robert Parker points because the 1973 was not a blockbuster but soft, silky with almost a Burgundian palate ?

Given the significance of the vintage for them, I’ve always assumed they tried extra-hard.

Yes, 1973 was the year that Mouton-Rothschild was elevated from a 2nd class to 1st class growth, with a reproduction of Picasso’s Bacchanale on the label.

Nice note -

I’ve had the wine quite a few times, and have never been disappointed. White '73 was a downright bad vintage, I kind of cut my teeth in the wine biz as they were the “current” vintage available when I first got in the wine business. I have an early tasting note book from the late 70s where I am having an orgasm over the '73 Beychevelle -

Glad to read this note! Been considering buying a bottle of this as it is my birth year wine. Still on the fence, to be honest. Leaning Riesling or Rioja for '73. Still, this has history and sounds like it’s still somewhat enjoyable.

Actually, 1973 was a nice easy-going vintage with sweet fruit and decent balance. What it lacked was structure and depth. A heck of a lot better than the two surrounding vintages, 1972 and 1974. There were some true dogs in those years.
For a brief time,my house wine (before I started a cellar) was 1973 Giscours which my local my & pop shop sold for $2.99. Damn tasty wine (better than the Gallo Hearty Burgundy I was accustomed to). From there I moved on to 1970 Beaucastel for $5 a bottle.
DoctorJay

is Corey chopped liver now?

I have one bottle that I bought at Zachys when it was first released. The Picasso label. Parker was barely out of law school so what does he know. I’m not sure the price, but I’m guessing it was less than $10. I guess I should open it and check it out.

Oh my, that was a terrible oversight! [wow.gif]

If you’d like to double your money, I’ll send you $20* for it!
























*in Appleby’s gift certificates









.

Any one tasted the 1975 Mouton recently? Any opinions?

My note on the '72 (from 2007) which is very generous given my birthyear tie to it (and the relatively low price I paid for the bottle)…

Slow oxygenated for four hours before consumption. This had a deep red-brown color that was consistent throughout. It showed an intense nose of fresh asparagus which carried into the palate where it was joined by notes of celery. This exceeded expectations and was surprising drinkable for the amount of greenness it had. The half-bottle leftover the next day lost a lot of the asparagus/celery notes, having them replaced by some bell pepper and hints of cabernet fruit (cassis). For what it’s worth, this was much better than the '72 Les Forts de Latour, which was drinkable, but no more in 1999.

I think I’d take the '73 over the '72 anytime…I love asparagus, but not in my wine.

fred

Many on CT: https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=15081&searchId=06F15889%23selected%253DW15081_1_K8f7fedb1d1d4fd8ddc1163b91439dde9


Not so recent, but mine anyway:

26.08.2009 - I WROTE: NR (Edit)
Opened about 5 hours in advance, took a sniff, had a sip, and put a cork back in. Some lovely aromas, but seemed fragile. Later, in the glass, the color was clear, the nose was really enticing, and the impression on the palate grew and grew. The nose was very sexy, with a delectable mix of tobacco, old leather, and a hint of vague “Christmas spice blend” in the background. In the mouth it was full and refreshing, with good acid and stiil with fruit, but not the longest ever. Tannins still very present, but in no way agressive. It kept getting better, and was in good shape by the time we finished it over the course of about 1 1/2 hrs.

I have one sitting around. Good to see a nice review.
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