1999 Château Mouton Rothschild

The 1999 Mouton-Rothschild, which Philippe Dhalluin told me was harvested in one week, has a forward, showy bouquet with more upfront black fruit than the 1999 Lafite-Rothschild I tasted an hour earlier. Blackberry mixes with hints of star anise and light tobacco notes, conveying energy and fine delineation if not the profundity of the greatest vintages. There seems to be a lot of extraction and/or vin de presse here. The palate is medium-bodied with sweet tannin and a fine bead of acidity, and quite dense and grippy in the mouth. There is presence but not the same sophistication that Dhalluin imparts nowadays. A pleasurable Mouton-Rothschild that tries everything to appeal, whereas nowadays it is more effortless. (NM)

Tasted blind as a vintage comparison at the Valandraud vertical, the 1999 Mouton-Rothschild is a "useful," perhaps over-looked vintage from the First Growth estate. It has a clean and precise bouquet - you could almost describe this as dainty, which I mean in a positive sense. The fruit is beautifully delineated, almost pastille-like with subtle floral scents emerging with time. The palate is fresh on the entry with supple red berries pierced by a fine line of acidity. No, it is not complex and it has lost a little substance in recent years, yet it is well balanced with sufficient depth and body on the tobacco and cedar-tinged finish. If you can put its status aside, it boils down to nothing more than a well-made, easygoing and refined Pauillac to drink now and over the next decade. Tasted December 2016.

A spicy Bordeaux with berries and hints of currants. Full, super round and soft – surrounded by vanilla and blueberry pie. Round and lovely. Just coming around now. Delicious.