Why is 2000 Mouton the most expensive first growth in 2000?

[Paul_Jaouen]

@Eric Ifune

I agree with Gerhard, I remember when the 2000 was released and it was the weakest of the 1er cru by some margin. I distinctly remember the bottle being cool, but the contents were just OK.

That’s an awful long time ago. Try it now.

[Robert.A.Jr]

@John Morris

@J Wei

maybe it’s because the bottle is special / different? It has the gold etched lamb instead of a traditional label. Totally a guess.

Just imagine what it would sell for if they had some really cute critter on the label:

I’d do Lamb Chop, universally loved (or hated, your pick):

[Robert.A.Jr]

@Neal.Mollen

@K John Joseph

Pulled this from KL site. Pretty unanimous description of the wine, which is very rare. It’s rich, it’s figgy, chocolaty, and pruney, and it’s in a glorious container!

97 points Wine Enthusiast
With its distinctive antique bottle and gold etched label dominated by a sheep, this is definitely a move away from classic Bordeaux bottling. It is good that the wine can support the presentation. The fruit is so ripe, it almost tastes of raisins, but that sweetness is finely balanced by the dry tannins and concentrated texture. To finish, there are exotic spices, giving an almost oriental character to the long aftertaste. (RV) (6/2003)

96 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
Perhaps the most beautiful packaging ever on a Bordeaux bottle, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild literally produced a work of art in the gold-engraved bottle of 2000 Mouton Rothschild. Of course, one can’t drink the glass, but this is a top-flight Mouton Rothschild, eclipsed only by the 2006 and 2009. A rich, tannic, earthy style, with loads of creme de cassis and floral notes, the final blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot is a full-bodied wine with plenty of coffee, earth, chocolatey notes, and still plenty of tannin to resolve. I gave it an anticipated maturity range of 2015-2050 back in 2003, and that looks on target. (RP) 96+ (6/2010)

95 points Vinous
Bright deep ruby with the barest hint of garnet; still very youthful. Enticing, complex nose of cassis, smoky cedar, violet, underbrush and kirsch; very Pauillac, if in a ripe style. Dense, rich and suave in the mouth, with lively acidity nicely framing the rich flavors of blackcurrant, blackberry jam, milk chocolate, grilled bread and spicy underbrush. Finishes with noble tannins and outstanding chocolatey persistence. A great Mouton and much better than another recently tasted bottle that had shown some signs of premature evolution. Though this wine comes across as quite smoky and chocolatey, Tourbier points out that Mouton has been using barrels with a medium or medium-plus toast since 1994 (more heavily charred barrels were used here from 1989 through 1993). The excellent millennium vintage featured a hot and humid year characterized by a very large crop and a fairly rainy first part of the year, but a very dry and warm second half resulted in considerable hydric stress (especially on the Right Bank.) (ID) (8/2011)

93 points James Suckling
The nose is very intense, super-ripe and rich, verging on jammy. Notes of leather, spices and prunes. Full-bodied, soft and beautiful with ripe tannins and a long finish. This is soft and yummy right now. Drink or hold. (3/2015)

93 points Wine Spectator
Rounded, fleshy and a bit extracted in feel, with dark plum, blackberry and fig jam flavors that flirt with a pruny edge, picking up lots of warm mocha, singed vanilla bean and ganache notes through the finish. This relies more on easy opulence than on depth or purity on the end. Drink now through 2023. (JM, Web Only-2016)

Custom made for Alfert!

How did Suckles miss 100 on this?

93 points James Suckling
The nose is very > very > intense, super-> uber-> ripe and rich> y-rich> , verging on > jelly-> jammy. Notes of leather, spices and > constipation-inspired> prunes. Full-bodied, soft and beautiful with ripe tannins and a long finish. This is soft > and cushy > and yummy> -yumskins > right now. Drink or hold. (3/2015)

I added some terms to bump the score

[Gerhard_P]

@Paul Jaouen

And I think it will be better than 1986 and who knows about 1982 since that is only now entering it’s drinking window. I think 2000 Mouton is a complete wine. Tasted last year.

I would bet against that (although it will be hard to verify) …
I´ve had the 1986 and 2000 Mouton both last year and the year before - and each 3-4 times before …
there are miles beween the 1986 which is simply a great great wine, not only very impressive, but really a monument - and the 2000 which I didn´t even recognize as a 2000 when served blind … there´s simply too much lacking, concentration, length, intensity …
don´t get me wrong, it´s an outstanding wine, but not a really great Mouton - and not a great 2000 …

(all imho of course … )

[Ian_Dorin]

@John Morris

@Ian Dorin

I had 2000 Margaux two years ago, and it was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY over the top. So much so, no one guessed it was Cali, and it was paired with 2010 Harlan.

?? Did you mean that everyone guessed it was from California?

Ugh, good lord. Yes, no one thought it was Bordeaux. Someone said Australia too. It was 20 guys too, not like this was a small group either.

[Jeff_Leve]

@Ian Dorin

@John Morris

@Ian Dorin

I had 2000 Margaux two years ago, and it was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY over the top. So much so, no one guessed it was Cali, and it was paired with 2010 Harlan.

?? Did you mean that everyone guessed it was from California?

Ugh, good lord. Yes, no one thought it was Bordeaux. Someone said Australia too. It was 20 guys too, not like this was a small group either.

Ian, that says more about the tasters than it does the wine. Not that I have not missed a wine tasted blind, since yesterday. But I am always amazed that when not getting a wine, people think it is the wine.

At least to me, 2000 Mouton is a very good wine. Worth 2K? There is no wine I’d pay 2K for. But as a wine, it’s an outstanding Bordeaux.

[Matt_Latuchie]

Had the 2000 Mouton back in 2012. Amazing wine.

[Cameron_Clark]

The Great chateau owners must be looking at this with interest, especially when you look at the current price of the '15 Margaux, with its black label.

If it’s the bottle that is causing the price lift, and it’s the only rational explanation, then how often can a chateau release a ‘special bottling’ before it looses the ‘special price’ effect ?

[scott_c]

Well, if any of you want to try it, I have one on CC for far less than it sold at HDH! Haha