1990 Mouton Rothschild

The 1990 Mouton-Rothschild has always been a rather disappointing First Growth, and despite the perfect provenance of this ex-château bottle, its juxtaposition against the 1996 does it no favors. It has an earthy, loose-knit, tobacco-stained bouquet that never clicks out of second gear. The palate is similar, reasonably well balanced but lacking cohesion and, in particular, missing weight on the midpalate. It is a 1990 that struggles with expectation and falls short. Tasted from an ex- château jeroboam at the Palace of Versailles charity dinner.

Notorious for not living up to the estate’s nor the vintage’s reputations, I have to say this 1990 Mouton Rothschild was not looking nearly as bad as I was expecting. This was a hot, dry vintage, which can be a challenge for vines on such free-draining soils as the deep gravel-mounds composing the backbone of Mouton’s vineyards. The effect of the struggling vines is apparent in the wine, yielding less density and chewier tannins. Nonetheless, the terroir's pedigree clearly glimmers in the background. The wine displays a brick color with subtle, compellingly elegant redcurrant jelly, dried cranberries and powdered cinnamon notes plus wafts of potpourri, dried figs, unsmoked cigars and dusty soil. Medium-bodied, it is notably far more delicately fruited than one would expect of Mouton, structured with bold freshness and a light chew of tannins before finishing on a mineral note. Indeed, it is skinny compared to great vintages, but it is aging gracefully. For readers who love those soft-spoken, more delicately expressed styles, this one’s for you!

Magnum. Served at the Versailles dinner so note written from memory. This was a gloriously ripe, round wine – despite being served from magnum. This was hugely dramatic and made the same sort of impact as Philippine de Rothschild. No wonder her widower Jean-Pierre de Beaumarchais liked it so much. I wonder how much longer it will see, at the peak of its powers? (JR)