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In the Forum: Playback Listening
In the Thread: Wine, women, song.. and audio

Post Subject: Mouton etcPosted by de charlus on: 8/8/2013

Yes, what an outrageous assertion! Yes, Rieussec is always a good thing, but I strongly recommend Gilette Creme de Tete and Sudiraut Cuvee Madame, since these special cuvees from somewhat less illustrious estates can be obscenely good, and decently-priced, although they can be hard to find due to only being made in the best vintages. Oh, and - and this is a wine-trade Masonic thing, but since I'm no longer in the trade.... - above all, Cru d'Arche Pugneau, a tiny estate bordering d'Yquem, Rieussec etc etc and making some stunning wines. Since they're unheard of outside of a select few, even their prestige cuvees are relatively affordable; "Trie Exceptionelle" is a typical, best-of-the-best prestige cuvee sometimes equal to the very best Rieussecs, Sudirauts and - dare I profane the name? - d'Yquems, whilst "L'Intemporel" is an exercise in the expression of terroir, each release being comprised of the portion of the holding that performed best in that vintage. Since the whole domain is 13ha, you can imagine that quantities are beyond limited, but the fact that no-one's heard of it helps.
I too like the butch, inky-black, blackcurrant-y Barton, but less than the aristocratic, elegant and supple Las Cases; a matter of personal preference, but I imagine the Mouton lover favoring Barton, and the Lafite fan preferring Las Cases. I never did much like the various Segurs, be they Phelan, Calon or H-Bomb, no matter what Mr. Parker has to say about it - coarse and monolithic, IMHO, but in Parker-speak that translates to "unbelievable intensity", "inordinate aging potential" and "colossal mouthfeel". A shame about your 82s; most 83s are drinking now, although Lafite, Latour etc have long lives ahead of them even if they are delicious now. As for 82s, their prices have reached such absurd territory that I almost feel guilty when I drink one, but I seldom buy purely to invest; I only did that in the 2000 vintage, since even if it had been terrible, it still would have appreciated, but having been at the Bordeaux 2000 Primeur tasting, I knew that not only was it the millennial vintage, but it was bloody great too, even modest estates like Clerc Milon turning out superb wines. Since I was in a position to furnish myself with the pick of the litter, I did so, and as you can well imagine was delighted with the outcome. Naturally, I sold 90% of what I bought at the top of the market, but for cellaring and eventual drinking I kept 6 of each of the 1st growths, plus Cheval Blanc and Petrus, and kept a case each of Las Cases, Cos d'Estournel, Barton, La Mondotte, L'Eglise Clinet, Talbot, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Gruaud-Larose, L'Evangile, Palmer, Giscours, Trotanoy, La Fleur Petrus, Angelus and Ausone. I am very happy about this.
Mouton did do a beautiful job of making their wines collectable even when terrible by having their label done by a different, prominent artist every year. Not only do they look cool, but the side-effect has been that the 1946 and 1948 (terrible when young, so unspeakable now) are almost as costly as their noble brethren, 1945 and 1947 (absolutely great) because people need those bottles - which were almost all consumed young, being terrible - to complete their Mouton collection - absolute genius. We are already seeing this effect with things like 52, 64, 68 etc etc, meaning that it actually makes a great deal of sense to purchase bad Mouton vintages when young, in the knowledge that people will simply have to have them for their label collection in a decade or two!

de Charlus

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