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  • Country ranking ?

    241
  • Producer ranking ?

    14
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    now to 2030
  • Food Pairing

    Grilled Porterhouse Steaks with Gorgonzola Walnut Butter

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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Parker: The 1949's bouquet offers copious amounts of sweet, ripe cassis fruit, herbs, spicy oak, and a touch of coffee and cinnamon. Medium-bodied, with moderate tannin still noticeable, this compact, dark garnet, opaquely-colored wine possesses superb concentration and a remarkably long finish. It appears to be fully mature, yet the balance, length, and tannin level suggest this wine could last for another 20 years. The 1949 was always considered to be the late Baron's favorite vintage. While I find it a formidable Mouton, I have a preference for the 1945, 1947, 1959, 1982, and 1986. Last tasted 10/94.

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The Story

Château Mouton Rothschild A Premier Cru Classé in 1973, Château Mouton Rothschild, owned by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, consists of 205 acres of vines near Pauillac, in the Médoc, North West of the city of Bordeaux. This Premier Cru benefits from exceptionally good natural conditions, both in the quality of the soil, the position of its vines and their exposure to the sun. It is regarded today as one of the world's greatest wine. 


The name Mouton is said to be derived from the word „Motte“ meaning mound or elevation of the ground. It was bought in 1853 by Philippe de Rothschilds great-grand father it was in a fairly bad shape and when the classification of 1855 was set up it was not deemed to be good enough to be qualified as a first growth but put in first place amongst the second growths. An injustice it took Philippe de Rothschild until 1973 to rectify. 1920s Philippe de Rothschild called together the owners of Haut Brion, Latour, Lafite, Margaux and Yquem to talk about the idea of bottling and marketing their wines on their own.

The first vintage to be bottled exclusivly at the château was the 1924 vintage. To commemorate this, the cubistic painter Carlu was asked to design the label, yet another revolutionary idea in this most conservative of surroundings. The idea of an artist designing the labels was dropped until 1945 when Philippe Jullian was asked to design a label commemorating the victory over nazi Germany. Since then works of such famous artists as Picasso, Miró, Dali, Chagall and personalities like John Huston and Prince Charles have been used for the labels.


In 1988, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, who had already been associated with her father's work for some time, succeeded her father. She has in turn become the guarantor of the quality of an illustrious wine whose motto proudly proclaims : "Premier je suis, second je fus, Mouton ne change". First I am, second I was, I Mouton do not change

Vineyard soil: very deep gravel on a limestone base Production area: 82.5 ha Grape varieties: 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot Average age of vines: 48 years Harvest method: hand picked. The grapes from the younger vines are harvested first and vinified separately.

Winemaking: Before destemming, the grapes are hand-sorted then selected one by one. Vinification depends on each vintage and the characteristics of each vat. All the relevant parameters, such as temperature, pumping over, aeration, vatting time and running off, are monitored by the technical manager, the cellar-master and the laboratory.
Ageing: 19 to 22 months in oak barrels (almost all new, the percentage varying according to the vintage)
 

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Wine Information

The decade culminated with the hot year of 1949, when Bordeaux was hit by an unprecedented dry spell. Cold, rainy weather had hindered germination, which resulted in an exceptionally uneven distribution of pollen. This, in turn, made for a record small crop. With the arrival of summer, Bordeaux was subjected to a heat wave the likes of which it had never seen before. Temperatures as high as 43°C were recorded at Médoc. Early September brought massive thunderstorms followed by a period of ideal weather, which lasted until the harvest at the end of the month. The already small crop was made even smaller, but it produced a fantastically juicy wine that was extremely delicious even at a young age.

The wines themselves have more backbone and are more elegant than the 1947 vintage. Indeed, these are missing the concentration which is found in the 1945. Mouton-Rothschild, however, is a capable challenger of even the best 1945s and 1947s, with its ample body and balance. The dry white wines produced were also outstanding, even though they are no longer very drinkable. Conversely, the Sauternes grapes picked at the end of a record dry October produced unique, noble rot wines.


 

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Vintage 1949

In Bordeaux, the decade culminated in the hot year of 1949, when Bordeaux was hit by an unprecedented period of drought. Cold, rainy weather had hampered germination, resulting in an exceptionally uneven distribution of pollen. This, in turn, led to a record harvest. With the arrival of summer, Bordeaux was subjected to a heatwave like it had never seen before. Temperatures of up to 43°C have been recorded in Médoc. Early September brought massive thunderstorms followed by a period of ideal weather, which lasted until harvest at the end of the month. The already small harvest was made even smaller, but it produced an incredibly juicy wine that was extremely delicious even at a young age. The wines themselves have more backbone and are more elegant than the 1947 vintage. Indeed, these lack the concentration found in the 1945. Mouton-Rothschild, however, is a capable challenger even of the best 1945 and 1947, with its ample body and balance. The dry white wines produced were also exceptional, although no longer very drinkable. Conversely, the Sauternes grapes picked at the end of a record dry October produced unique and noble wines.

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Average Bottle Price

2023 2021 2019 2016 2015 2013 2010 2005 2000
6 721€ +4.5% 6 433€ +14.2% 5 634€ +40.1% 4 022€ +21.4% 3 313€ +11.9% 2 962€ +6.1% 2 791€ +137.9% 1 173€ +35.6% 865€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Full

ending

Medium

flavors

Coffee and Earthy

nose

Intense and Refined

recommend

Yes

taste

High in Acidity, Complex, Balanced, Well-structured, Full-bodied, Fruity, Elegant, Full, Sweet and Silky tannins

Written Notes

The 1949 Mouton Rothschild was a great bottle of this wine though unfortunately a bit corked, but the transparency and clarity of the wine still came through on the palate. Tender, soft, smooth and easy, its corkiness blew off a bit to reveal cedar, leather, dust and tobacco flavors. Then, its cassis and black rose fruit flavors really came through. In fact, the cork seemed to disappear as both time and the wine kept unfolding in the glass. Round, beautiful and balanced, I really felt that I could still taste this seductive wine despite the initial, pronounced cork aromas, and I decided that my judgment of the wine was not clouded; hence, there will be no ‘A’ for affected for this score

  • 94p
The capsule and cork were in excellent condition, as well as the level with very promising colour. Instantly after opening the bouquet opened up and was very expansive and complex. From the first sip to the last, this was an absolutely fabulous and grand wine, despite it was Jan-Erik Paulson’s birth vintage. Extensive and shoft aftertaste. I enjoyed the wine very much, almost as musch as the good company of Jan-Erik. Ready and will not improve like Jan☺. At its peak in normal size bottles, but could easily last another five to ten years in magnums. Serious and pleasing experience!!
  • 95p

Very, very dark crimson. Rich and round and complete. Full and flattering. Mouton really did seem to be on a roll in the late 1940s... Baron Philippe at his most determined? Mouton was, after all, still a second growth at this stage.

  • 96p

A beautiful magnum from the cellar of the late John Avery. An amazing nose so typical of a great Mouton. A perfect wine! I find it hard to decide which is the greatest wine I ever tasted - Moutons 1949 or 1945. 1945 with a bit more concentration or 1949 with more charm.

  • 100p

Truffles, spicy blackcurrants, velvety structure, alive, extremely elegant and finesseful. Great complexity and length. Fabulous stuff.

  • 97p
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Information

Origin

Pauillac, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Very Good

Fake factory

Be Cautious

Glass time

2h

Drinking temperature

16

Inside Information

STILL-LIFE WITH WINE BOTTLES AND GLASSES

The artist André Dignimont (1891–1965) was very closely linked by friendship with famous contemporary writers, who were associated, as was he, with the Parisian world of the literary salons. Above all, he was known as an illustrator of his friends’ books. Dignimont illustrated works by renowned authors, such as Balzac and Colette. Many of his images and illustrations were inspired by the lively goings-on of the salons and depict the entertainment that was on offer in cafés, cabarets and throughout the Parisian nightlife. Dignimont’s rural scene for the Mouton label is thus all the more surprising. He chose to depict a still life with wine bottles and glasses on a table in a village inn, a scene that is typical of the Bordeaux region.

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