1970 Mouton-Rothschild – Really great wine, my #4 WOTN (long)

OK, I’ll troll after one of the great wine evenings of my life.

This is not a commercial post, but I will name my host and his store. He has bought wine from me.

Steve Morrison owns Sterling Cellars, in Mahopac, NY. It’s a large, busy store with all of the Usual Suspects as well as a large number of Unusual Suspects. Steve, his daughter Amanda and manager Jay taste and pay attention! The Old & Rare room is a treasure trove, priced fairly. I have never seen Steve’s personal collection, but it is obviously a wonder.

A few months ago I hosted Steve (with other customers) to a commercial tasting followed by dinner at Crabtree’s Kittle House. Steve was a Happy Camper, said my next time in the neighborhood he would take me to dinner.
OK, yes thank you!
I told him I was bringing one wine, a legendary red Bordeaux, and one guest. My guest was unable to come and in addition to the Bordeaux, I brought a bottle of a Champagne I import, so no name or notes. Steve brought 4 bottles, so we had 6 for 7 people. We were joined by Steve’s wife Phyllis, his daughter Amanda, her fiance Mike, store manager Jay and new wine guy Matt. Tastes and small glasses were shared with our waitress and the restaurant owner. The amount of wine was perfect. People went back and forth to retaste things right through the meal. At the end of the evening, the bottles were empty.
IMO, if you’re conducting a social tasting of great wines, at the end of the evening all bottles should be empty and all tasters should be sober.

We gathered at Traditions 118, a bustling American / Italian restaurant with a substantial menu of classics, done well.

After the Champagne, Steve displayed the first of his offerings:

2004 Chapoutier Ermitage ‘De l’Oree’ – This was a medium gold color, with beautiful open aromas of quince, bosc pear, mountain meadow flowers and honey. On the palate this had incredible density, richer than 99% of the world’s red wines. Massive as it was, it was beautifully balanced, incredibly light on its feet, with a finish that lasted over half a minute. This is very great wine, tied for my #2 of the evening. Rated 97 points, drink now, but should live to at least double its current age.

My ’legendary’ red Bordeaux was 1982 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild. Even though Steve did not know this, he brought

1970 Chateau Mouton Rothschild - Using an AhSo, the cork came out in a few pieces, Steve used a sieve pourer that worked well.
Medium garnet color with only a little bricking. The aromas were fully secondary but not at all tertiary, with classic black-currant in the foreground, cedar, tobacco and white pepper behind. The palate was soft but still lively, not tasting remotely like 50 years. To quibble, the finish thinned out after 30 seconds, but this was a glorious bottle at peak. Rated 95, my #4 WOTN.

1982 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild – Cork came out intact with an AhSo. This was a medium deep ruby color with no bricking. The aromas were fresh and vivid, again blackcurrant and cedar, maybe a hint of oak. This was very similar to the 1970, but simply offered another level of density and power, just a benchmark of what Cabernet Sauvignon can achieve. The word ‘majestic’ comes to mind. Rated 97, drink now or over the next 20 years. Tied for my #2 WOTN.

Steve’s next offering was a complete change of pace just before the main courses arrived:

2003 Williams-Selyem Pinot Noir Russian River Valley – Surprisingly healthy light crimson color, no bricking. The aromas were redolent of red cherry, with a white spice component under. The palate was tender but still fresh, with a nicely lacy texture. An excellent showing for an entry-level RRV Pinot at this age. The finish wasn’t the longest, but everything was very harmonious. Rated 91.5. Fully mature. My #5 WOTN.

After the massive white and the two Monumental Muttons, Steve had somehow saved the best for last:

1970 Lopez-Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva – The cork came out clean. The wine was a healthy red color with some bricking. The aromas were stunning; aged but not old, full of red and black fruit, very animal, with mountain herbs, as if you were in a vineyard standing next to goats or a wild boar; thrilling, but not dangerous at a restaurant table. The flavors were a revelation, fresh, tense, an almost impossibly intricate mesh of plant and animal, fresh fruit and green herbs, voluptuous tannins (if there were such things!). I didn’t know wine could taste like civet de sanglier. There was a tiny touch of graininess than kept it from perfection. Rated 99. My WOTN.

For some reason, I can’t get the photos of WS and L-H into this, if anybody wants to see 'em, I’ll try to post them separately.

Many, many thanks to Steve Morrison, his family and team for including me in a truly glorious evening of great wine.

Dan Kravitz

Thanks for taking the time to convey the setup, context, and then execution of such a fun and memorable (to my read) tasting experience. I’ve always preferred the Bosconia to the Tondonia but your note reminds me to keep an open mind .

Cheers!
fred

Well said Sir.

I always thought the 70 did a Brett bloom in bottle.

Afterwards and before the wine was great.

Thanks for sharing this perfect tasting experience… I enjoyed the post almost as if I were there. I have one 1970 Mouton left. Each bottle that I have had from a case purchased 33 years ago has been different. Some very medicinal and some giving great pleasure.

The 1970 Mouton was closed for biz for decades, glad to know it has reached a high level of harmony.