During the harvest, on a mild morning of last autumn, Best Sommelier of the World 2016 Arvid Rosengren has been welcomed at Château Mouton Rothschild for a comparative tasting of the vintages 2005 and 2015 in red, and 2013 and 2015 in white of the Rothschild family wines.
Château Mouton Rothschild probably is the most iconic vineyard of this family of just as exceptional personalities with Baron Philippe (1902 – 1988), his daughter Philippine de Rothschild (1933 – 2014) and now her three children: Camille Sereys de Rothschild, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild.
The vineyard of the Premier Grand Cru Classé stretches over 84 hectares in Pauillac and takes advantage of outstanding natural conditions, both for the quality of the soils and for its exposure. It receives careful attention that combines tradition and top-notch technology from the grapes to the wine: wine growers in charge of each plot of the estate, manual harvest, grapes picked in crates and selected on vibrating tables than by optical sorting, vinification in oak tanks with translucent staves, maturing of the wines in new oak barrels.
Blending and selection of the reds are then done for both wines of the estate, Château Mouton Rothschild and Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild. Very attached to arts the Rothschild family has been asking a renowned artist to illustrate each of the labels of Château Mouton Rothschild since 1945. Few days after Jon Arvid’s visit, the label of the 2014 vintage has been unveiled. It has been drawn by English painter David Hockney and pays tribute to Baroness Philippine who passed away the same year. The 69 original works of these artists are exhibited at Mouton, in a special room since 2013, and compose the collection “L’Art et l’Etiquette”.
Owned by the Rothschilds since 1970, Château Clerc Milon has first undergone a huge renovation of the vineyard that now totals 41 hectares in the northeast of the Pauillac appellation. This estate, whose iconic label represents two dancers of the Comedia dell Arte, is located on the Mousset hillock that overhangs the Gironde, a position that favours the draining and sun exposure of its soils composed by two thirds of sandy gravels. Its average age of 52 is one of the highest of the Medoc as well as its plant density of 8,500 to 10,000 stocks per hectare according to the plots. When Baron Philippe passed away Philippine de Rothschild undertook to makeover the technical facilities. In 2007 an entirely gravity-operated vathouse of 40 tanks is put into service whereas Château Clerc Milon took on its final form with an architectural complex of 3,600 sqm hosting the semi-underground barrel hall, a cellar and reception rooms. The use of stone, glass and wood is undoubtedly reminiscent of the wine universe. Eco-friendly wine growing and purely Medoc traditional vinification endow the wines of Clerc Milon with what Arvid calls “the character and elegance of the Grand Crus of Medoc”.
Valérie Massot-Germe
Château Mouton Rothschild 2005
1er Cru Classé – Pauillac
I really liked the Mouton Rothschild 2005. Maybe it does not feel like a classic Mouton. Mouton Rothschild is always for me that rich, velvety, very aromatic, very spicy and sort of dense wine. I thought the 2005 we had today had some of those characteristics, and a sort of exuberant, floral (a lot of violet), liquorice, cinnamon along the nose. But the palate was really well-structured, high acidity, high tension, a high energy wine. A beautiful wine with a long life ahead. And I am happy to see that it is coming around and becoming enjoyable.
Château Clerc Milon 2005
Grand Cru Classé Pauillac
In a fantastic state of evolution. The 2005s in general have been pretty tough on my palate until now. It was great to have a 2005 that was open, maybe not ready to drink as it can age for a long time. It is certainly starting to get approachable. Very supple, very velvety structure. Really complex flavours, it still has a fruitiness but is moving into more that stage of classic Pauillac flavours, but with a more a supple palate owing to the proportion of Merlot I would imagine in the blend. That was a beautiful wine.
www.chateau-mouton-rothschild.com
www.chateau-clerc-milon.com
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