1953 Mouton Rothschild

The 1953 Mouton-Rothschild is a wine that I have only tasted once before, when it utterly transfixed its audience with transcendental beauty. This magnum was quite different and initially I wondered whether it was correct. Then later, perusing Robert Parker's own tasting note, I found many similarities between our observations. Deep in color, it showed little sign of ageing on the rim. It has a rich and exotic bouquet with mint, juniper berries, leather and roasted herbs, quite atypical for 1953 Left Banks that are usually more elegant and less rich. The palate is structured and dense, the acidity lower than expected, unashamed "old-school" claret with what felt like a lot of volatility on the finish like a 1947 Claret. It actually improved in the glass, achieving more harmony and tempering its fieriness on the finish. It left me intrigued as to how this shows between bottle and larger formats. Tasted September 2016.