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Wine Description
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)
Wine Information
Château Mouton Rothschild 1984
Climatic conditions
A mild and very wet January was followed by cold, dry weather in February and March. April was exceptionally warm, with temperatures rising to a 30-year record high of 29° C, causing the vines to bud early.
Budbreak occurred on 11 April for Merlot and Cabernet Franc and on 18 April for Cabernet Sauvignon.
The weather continued to be extremely changeable throughout the spring. A very cold and wet May retarded the vegetation cycle and normal conditions for the season did not return until June. A surge of growth then swept through the vineyard in the second half of the month and mid-flowering was noted on 18 June for all three varieties.
July was sunny but August much less so, causing veraison to occur slowly and unevenly. Mid-veraison was noted on 17 August for all three varieties.
Ripening was slowed by cold and wet weather in September. Conditions did not return to normal until 3 October, after cyclone Hortense had passed, bringing fine, sunny spells that ensured good conditions for picking.
Vintage 1984
Bordeaux / The year 1984 was statistically as poor as 1972. The cold and poor vintage was nevertheless transformed into moderate with skillful winegrowers using new production methods, tools and know-how. The vintage was overpriced after 1982. High wine prices at that time, combined with a poor vintage, resulted in leftover stocks. Now the situation is different and the wines for sale now have excellent value for money. However, they are not worth the investment.
