René Gabriel
Hervé Berland, Director of the Baronnie: <div style="font-style:italic;color:#990033">In terms of style, Mouton 1996 is a blend of 1986 and 1988. Not quite that crushing concentration, but a classic Mouton with lots of ripe fruit and plenty of ripe tannins. In short: Il est trés Mouton!</div> Barrel sample (19/20): finely detailed, nuanced cassis bouquet, gently toasty, lots of spicy terroir, dried herbs, a hint of mint, and a softly buttery note that underlines the wine’s complexity. On the palate, perfectly balanced; soft, ripe, almost plush tannin already binding with the acidity and extract; plenty of coffee notes, dried cassis, elderberry and black currant; the tannins are supportive, showing rich astringency; long finish. Arrivage tasting in 2000 (19/20): concentrated, toasty cassis bouquet, bread crust, soy notes, exotic precious woods; an intoxicating nose, even if the wine beneath still seems very closed. On the palate, juicy, Amarena cherry sweetness, soft, velvety extract, completely harmonious structure; clearly more concentrated than the 1990 and far easier to read than the hard-to-crack 1995. Together with the 1994 vintage, a true Mouton just the way you like it. 02: Fearing the usual table wine might not be enough, René Schmidlin took a Jeroboam of this wine on the Bordeaux trip. Then it was up to me. How do you integrate a 5-liter bottle into a menu where so many other beautiful wines are being poured? Or put differently: how do you apportion a 5-liter bottle when you assume that for 15 people the equivalent of 35 bottles will ultimately be available? I opted for the table-wine approach. So each participant had two medium glasses for tasting and one large glass to be able to “drink in style.” Since I assumed we’d be sipping from this large-format bottle for about four hours in total, it seemed pointless to decant it; I wanted to give it the chance to show us every facet of its evolution. The experience alone filled the evening: initially fruity with tremendous depth, it shut down after a good half hour. Then it needed about an hour of air and slowly—very unhurriedly—opened its fighter’s fist. This great Mouton contains much that you could add or even multiply from other great vintages: the depth and spice of 1986, the fruit and finesse of 1982, and the toasty and coffee notes of 1989. In any case, it is unquestionably a brilliant wine that should really cost far more than what it currently fetches or is paid at auction. Yet another bargain: when the wine is finally truly mature, many will say: <div style="font-style:italic;color:#990033">Back then, you should have bought.</div> Today (2005) it sells at auction for around 220 francs. I expect it to cost about 500 francs around 2010—an easy doubling over the next eight years. And another ten years on, it might even reach 20/20 points. (19/20). 04: The nose is unabashedly sweet, showing creamy caramel notes; it fans out and lives above all on lavish cassis tones, almond pastries and candied orange peel, Neapolitan confectionery. On the palate, this sweet fruit aromatics continue; the wine is very compact and has enormous drive on the finish. Right now, thanks to its open aromatics, it is hugely appealing with its orgy of flavors. 06: What I can’t get my head around is that Mouton 1994 and 1995 are more closed. This one is already a lot of fun! Still showing a very deep color, garnet-purple, no signs of maturity. The nose is spicy, sweet, with lots of toast, cassis and mocha. On the palate, surprisingly approachable; fat, rolling tannins; the aromatics play out in the blue- to black-berry range; the finish compact and again with the classic, intoxicating Mouton sweetness—pure Cabernet eroticism! 07: What sets this Mouton apart from its own 1995? While the latter still shows very closed, this one makes a big entrance right from the start—properly “Mouton”! 08: Certainly still too young, but still worth the sin, showing lots of sweetness and ripe, warm Cabernet aromas. 08: Currently in a wickedly sweet Mouton phase. Shameless young Pauillac pleasure. 09: Soft and caressing, with lavish toasty notes. 10: Seems to be shutting down. The bottle we drank in Hergiswil was a bit stubborn and showed more muscle than before. 11: I decanted a Magnum for 4 hours. It was pointless. Best to let this great wine have its reductive rest for now. 11: Dark garnet. Delicately sweet bouquet, fine, well-judged toast notes, cassis, elderberry; a fine orange zest over the bouquet that freshens the aromatic picture; pralines and almond pastries; it opens beautifully and, in a way, recalls the 1959 Mouton. On the palate, showing feminine Pauillac grace; tremendous, fully sweet-shining concentration, almost like an essence. As I always say: Mouton is Pauillac’s center of oenological eroticism! Already very close to the maximum score. (19/20). 12: Rich and dark. Dark-roasted bouquet with lots of very ripe, dark plums and cassis, very complex. Round, full, incredibly flattering palate; despite its very promising potential, already lots of charm, and can be approached again now after a few years of being closed. Though waiting five years is surely the better option—at the latest you feel it in the enormous reserves once you’ve swallowed this dream Mouton. (19/20). 12: The wine hit like a bomb. The 80 guests at the Waag in Zurich were delighted. And everyone got a good gulp because it was an Impérial bottle. For this large format you could already pull the 20/20 card, and I think the standard bottles will soon get there too! (19/20). 14: Normally I speculate here that it can one day make 20 points. Its handicap this time: it came straight after the sensational 1995 Lafite. This is an especially delicate Mouton that, with its cedar scent, has also picked up a nuance of a truly great Saint-Julien. The tannins are typically Mouton-sweet. The whole build is so fine that it already drinks wonderfully well, despite great potential. (19/20). 16: At a blind tasting in Faugères. Not everyone liked it. Gabriel did. (19/20). 16: Very toasty and, with its explicit cedar touch, also reminiscent of a truly great Saint-Julien. 16: Again, lots of cedar sensed from the Rütli bottle. It is slimming down aromatically now and offers so much spice. (19/20). 17: At the cellar table of Charlie B. I decanted this Magnum seven hours beforehand. It went off like a pleasure grenade and quickly won people over—because the bottle was emptied pretty fast. (19/20). Anyone who wants to enjoy a mature Mouton and doesn’t care as much for the earthy side should go after this 1996. Max Gerstl took it to the general meeting of the wine exchange. It delivered travel fun on a huge level! As mentioned before, in drinking terms it’s a “fast” Mouton. The bottle is in demand at the table! (19/20). 19: Deep purple, slightly brownish rim. The bouquet is extremely toasty, showing Mouton’s vinification style from that era (back then, 100% new barrels were used consistently). On the second pass: malty sweetness, first dark leather notes and traces of slightly overripe Merlot in the form of dark raisins. On the palate, very concentrated, tightly knit. Both fleshy and substantial; there is still a lot of fruit inside. It seems poised to get going at full throttle soon. So the first stage of maturity is in sight. (19/20). 20: At the Engel in Warendorf. An almost indecently drinkable Pauillac wine dream. (19/20). 21: Very rich, dense purple-garnet. Typical Mouton scent from that time: toasty, malty, chocolatey, showing a soy touch and traces of glutamate; lots of ripe plums; lofty, expansive. In short: simply a beautiful aromatic picture with a pinch of Mouton eroticism. On the palate, finely meaty, concentrated, balanced, imposing and gentle at the same time; intense finish with almost dramatic drive. Now in its first maturity for young-wine drinkers and with many promises for those expecting true Pauillac character in a great Mouton. At Orvinum under 500 francs. (19/20).
