2004 Mouton-Rothschild

This wine was tasted as part of a vertical held in January 2016.

With estate manager Philippe Dhalluin now firmly in control here and with a few vintages under his belt, many Medoc insiders expect Mouton-Rothschild to give Lafite a run for its money in the coming years. Dhalluin has made a host of small but key improvements in the winery, and, more important, has significantly upgraded the work in the vineyards. For example, Mouton has a good percentage of interplanted young vines, but is now picking these vines separately and eliminating them from the grand vin At Mouton (and with Armailhac as well beginning in 2006), the grapes no longer have to be pumped into the cuve Dhalluin noted that his predecessor used to raise the temperature of the wine during the post-fermentation maceration, but he now does any further maceration at a more "normal" temperature. He also uses "bigger but less frequent" pumpovers during the fermentation. Harvesting here is now much more precise, and in 2006 the grand vin represents just 44% of the crop (as recently as 2003, it was 87%). Still, said Dhalluin, the best "classic" parcels of Mouton produced less juice in 2006 due to hydric stress rather than stricter selection: the berries were smaller. Dhalluin carried out a more gentle extraction than usual. The color came quickly and he reduced the fermentation temperature to 26o or 27o, with the total maceration lasting no more than three weeks. But the 2006 Mouton nonetheless has a higher IPT than the 2005 (77, vs. 74).

Estate manager Philippe Dhalluin, who moved from Branaire to Mouton in April of 2003, really only took over control of production at Mouton for the 2004 vintage (Dhalluin told me he had "no impact" in 2003). Prior to that, say some critics of this estate, there were too many strong personalities involved in decision-making here. Dhalluin is seeking above all else to make a wine that accurately expresses its terroir With the 2004 and 2005, only medium-toast barrels were used, not the heavily charred oak that contributed an exotic character to some previous vintages. (Dhalluin noted that retired winemaker Patrick Leon eliminated the heavy-toast barrels with the 2002 vintage). Although Dhalluin prefers a long maceration, he has attempted to keep temperatures more moderate than in the past. With the 2004 vintage, he has harvested the estate's young vines first-even those interplanted in old plots-and the old plants later on. Perhaps most important in 2005, Dhalluin practiced a stricter selection than this estate has done in recent years: just 64% of the crop went into Mouton (and another 20% into the second wine, Petit Mouton), with the result that the production of the grand vin will be the lowest in 30 years, with the exception of the tiny, frost-reduced crop of 1991. In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that there are plenty of early critics of the young 2005 Mouton, but I have to wonder if this is simply Mouton-bashing. My sample was wonderfully rich and aromatic, with the potential to be Mouton's finest vintage in many years.

Following severe green harvesting-twice in some plots, according to estate manager Philippe Dhalluin-Mouton produced just 45 hectoliters per hectare in 2004. The chateau harvested more slowly and precisely than usual, separately harvesting the young vines interplanted in the oldest parcels and then adjusting the maceration temperatures and times for each vat to match the needs of the original plot. Although Mouton experimented with the use of osmose inverse for Armailhac and Clerc-Milon, only saignee was used to concentrate the must for the Mouton. The sample that was presented in early April represented a rather strict 57% selection, compared to 87% in 2003.