CHATEAU MOUTON ROTHSCHILD 2004 - Pauillac - 1er Grand Cru Classe A - France - Red Wine

Country : France
Region : Bordeaux - Pauillac
Type : Red
Year : 2004
Volume : 75 cl

WINEMAKER TASTING NOTES : The wine has a strong, dark and deep colour, while the nose displays subtle complexity on fruity notes of black cherry, candied quince and liquorice with touches of cold smoke, revealing very well-integrated oak. The attack is rich and full, with precise, refined tannins that elegantly enfold mocha flavours and toasted notes, leading into a close-knit and flavourful finish with attractive, very fresh length. A distinctive and stylish wine. Varietal mix Cabernet Sauvignon 69% Merlot 15% Cabernet Franc 13% Petit Verdot 3%.

WINE CRITICS 95 points Wine Spectator
Outer quote mark This shows lots of mulled spice, warm tobacco leaf and well-roasted cedar accents, but isn't short on fruit, offering enticing layers of red currant, plum and blackberry confiture. The long finish is riddled with sweet smoke, black tea and iron notes. A gorgeous wine from an overlooked vintage. (JM) Inner quote mark (3/2017)

94 points James Suckling
Outer quote mark A dense and pretty wine for this less-than-optimum vintage. Full to medium body with firm and polished tannins. Flavors of currants, berries, mint and spearmint. Inner quote mark (11/2015)

94 points Wine & Spirits
Outer quote mark Supple and grand, Mouton has a heavenly richness in 2004. The flavors are saturated with blackberry and black-cherry fruit, bright on the aroma, quieter and softer in the end. The wine has a laconic beauty, closed off behind its oak and stony tannin. Inner quote mark (10/2007)

93 points Vinous
Outer quote mark The 2004 Mouton Rothschild is supple, forward and inviting. Dark cherry, plum, tobacco and grilled herbs are all pushed forward. This is an especially succulent Mouton, partly because of the high percentage of Merlot that was common during this era. Gravel, pencil shavings, smoke and cured meats add myriad shades of nuance on the powerful, explosive finish. Philippe Dhalluin told me he waited as long as possible to harvest in 2004, the driest vintage Mouton had seen up until that point. (AG) Inner quote mark (5/2016)

93 points Wine Enthusiast
Outer quote mark A wine that is powerful, highly extracted and intense. The chocolate flavors and serious, dry tannins go with big, fat blackberry fruits and finishing acidity. (RV) Inner quote mark (6/2005)

92 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Outer quote mark Good full ruby-red. Expressive aromas of currant, coffee, dark chocolate, tobacco, mocha and smoked meat. Juicy, spicy and classically dry; rather tight and backward for 2004 and not a particularly fleshy style, even if it's nicely sweetened by nutty oak. But this boasts excellent precision and verve and the aromatic finishing flavors build slowly and steadily. Firm acids and tannins give this plenty of backbone for development in bottle. With extended aeration, the texture became silkier. (ST) Inner quote mark (6/2007)

ABOUT THE TERROIR : From the Médoc…  : Château Mouton Rothschild spans 90 hectares (222 acres) of vines to the north-west of Bordeaux, on the edge of the Médoc peninsula, itself situated, as its name indicates, in medio aquae, amid the waters: those of the Gironde estuary to the east and of the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The Médoc vineyard, which dates back to Roman times, now covers around 16,500 hectares (41,000 acres). The vines are planted on a narrow strip of land 80 km long and 5 to 10 km wide, close to the river, which irrigates the soil in depth and moderates differences in temperature. Bordering the northern limit of the Landes forest, the Médoc benefits from the mildness of the ocean climate while also being protected from its excesses. …

to Pauillac As in every great winegrowing region, the vagaries of geology and microclimate produce wines of different styles and quality, some of which have to content themselves with generic appellations: Médoc, Haut-Médoc or Bordeaux. The elite are to be found within a handful of prestigious local appellations such as Margaux, Saint-Julien and Saint-Estèphe. One of the most famous is certainly Pauillac, where the Cabernet Sauvignon grape, first planted there in the early 19th century, reaches its finest expression. The 1,200 or so hectares (3,000 acres) of the Pauillac appellation include three of the five “Premiers Crus Classés du Médoc et de Graves” (Médoc and Graves First Growths), Lafite, Latour and Mouton. That glorious trio is surrounded by 15 of the 60 Médoc estates to feature in the famous 1855 classification.

FROM VINES TO WINES The birth of a First Growth The Château Mouton Rothschild vineyard, mostly situated on a hillock called the “Plateau de Mouton” which rises to 27m above sea-level, is planted on very deep gravelly soil with the varieties typical of the region: Cabernet Sauvignon (81%), Merlot (15%), Cabernet Franc (3%) and Petit Verdot (1%). These proportions are not reflected identically in the wine, because the blend varies according to the character of each vintage. However, Cabernet Sauvignon always predominates: it is Cabernet Sauvignon that gives Mouton its rich tannins, its wealth of aroma and flavour and its ageing capacity, while Merlot, an inseparable companion, brings suppleness, roundness and exceptional length. As with other top Médoc wines, the vineyard is densely planted – 10,000 vines per hectare – and the average age of the vines is around 44 years.

ABOUT THE HARVEST The grapes are hand-picked and placed in open baskets that keep them intact. After destemming, they are hand-sorted on vibrating tables. Those that pass this rigorous test are transferred into mobile bins and fed into the fermentation vats by the action of gravity alone. Thus, from vine to vat, the fruit is not subject to any non-natural pressure or constraint.

ABOUT VINIFICATION : At the cutting edge of technology, the gravity-feed vat room ushers in a new era in Mouton’s history. Built on two levels linked by elegant metal pillars in a harmonious marriage of wood and steel, it remains true to the Mouton tradition of oak vats. Of different size, the vats correspond to the different parcels of the estate, helping to optimise both selection at harvest-time and the blending of the wine. The vast majority of the vats at Mouton are made of oak (44 vats, fitted with transparent staves, so that the vinification process can be monitored), the others are made of stainless steel (20 vats).

ABOUT MATURING  : After vinification, the wines are matured in new oak barrels and the various stages in the maturing process are carried out in the traditional Médoc manner, including topping-up, and fining with egg-white which is intended to clarify and stabilise the wine by precipitating the particles suspended in it. During the maturing process, which lasts about twenty months, the barrels are transferred from the Grand Chai to the second-year cellars, where the wine stays cool until the end of its stay at the Château.

ABOUT THE WINERY : The ambition of making Mouton a place of art and beauty can be seen everywhere. Outside, in the harmonious arrangement of buildings and open space, in the subtle play of perspectives, in the zen-raked pathways, in the peaceful symmetry of the two end-walls that frame the château, in the contrast between the vertical lines of Petit Mouton, a modest, ivy-covered, mansard-roofed Victorian residence built in 1885, and the horizontal lines of Grand Mouton, constantly enhanced and redesigned since the 1960s. The long façade of light yellow stone overlooks the sea of vines : Grand Mouton symbolises a whole art of living, and hence of receiving guests. It contains several large rooms: the Column Room and its Old Master paintings celebrating the vine and wine; the Dunand Room, in tribute to the famous lacquer artist, who around 1930 created a harvest dance for the liner Normandie; the Ramp Room with its sloping ceiling, its statues and its tapestries. After the Grand Chai and its precious casks, the Museum of Wine in Art, situated in a former barrel hall, is a sight of splendour, containing exceptionally rare items of 17th-century German gold- and silverware, jugs, cups and goblets from the fabulous treasure of the kings of Naples, antiques, mediaeval tapestries, paintings, ivories, glassware, Chinese, Japanese and Persian porcelain and much more. An unforgettable experience, it is a magical place where so many artists and art forms, cultures and religions bear resounding witness to the eternal and fruitful dialogue between art and wine.

VINTAGE 2014 by ANDREAS LARSSON




CHATEAU MOUTON ROSTHCHILD WINERY TOUR 




CHATEAU MOUTON ROTHSCHILD explained by PHILIPE DHALLUIN