Ch.Mouton Rothschild 1999 375ml

Wine Adovacate #229, Mar 1, 2017, by Neal Martin
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.

The name Rothschild has been associated with fine wines for almost a century and a half when vines first appeared on what is now known as the Mouton-Rothschild estate in the early 18th century. The Rothschild family had bought the property in 1853, and its reputation was rapidly restored. In due course the driving force was Baron Philippe de Rothschild who assumed control in 1922.
He was a dynamic figure who revolutionised much of the running of the estate. He was the first to introduce château-bottling, as early as 1924, and instigated the practice, after the Second World War, of employing a different artist each year to design the label. Miró, Chagall, Braque, Picasso, Warhol, Bacon, Balthus, Tàpies and a myriad of famous artists have contributed to this tradition.
His greatest achievement was to have Mouton upgraded to 1st Growth Status in 1973, the only change ever to be made to the 1855 Classification. For decades the price of Mouton had matched, and frequently surpassed, that of the other First Growths, so the logic for the promotion was undeniable. Picasso was engaged to design that vintage’s label. Philippe died in 1988 and the estate passed into the hands of his daughter, Philippine.

Meats, Beef and Venison