1929 Mouton Rothschild

The 1929 Mouton-Rothschild is the oldest bottle I have tasted from this First Growth, although of course, it was a mere "Deuxième Cru" when Baron Philippe de Rothschild made this gorgeous wine. The color was commensurate with its age, showing moderate signs of bricking on the rim, but a healthy color. The bouquet is very typical of this vintage: decayed red fruit indicative of once fleshy, fruit-driven aromatics, cedar, mahogany bureau and a hint of molasses -- all elegant and very refined, holding up in the glass over 20-30 minutes. The palate still displays sublime balance with much greater depth and harmony than the 1929 Beychevelle tasted the previous month. It is complex and nuanced, mulberry and sandalwood, a faint touch of wild mint, Vervain tea emerging with time. It is a glorious Pauillac in its dotage, certainly one of the finest wines that I have encountered from the vintage. It encapsulates everything that mature Bordeaux is about. Tasted October 2016.