Pauillac 2008 - Château Mouton Rothschild
Vintage: 2008
Color: Red
Quantity: 75cl
With, once again, a very large proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, Château Mouton Rothschild presents a very rich aromatic palette throughout the tasting.
The first nose is intense and open: red fruit, blackberry and blackcurrant combine harmoniously with floral notes such as violet. Allowed to breathe, empyreumatic notes blend gracefully with delicate cedar notes.
On the palate, the wine offers a lively, powerful, robust attack and releases silky and velvety tannins. The fruit, with a predominance of black berries, is very present, and enhanced by toasted notes and a delicious hint of vanilla. The finish, powerful and harmonious, offers very nice length.
In 2008, nature will have taken its time to provide the necessary elements, from the vines to winemaking, in order to produce a very great wine.
After a cool and humid spring, we returned to seasonal weather in June, but the vine's vegetative cycle was delayed.
July was sunny and dry, but the summer continued with a lackluster month of August, which increased the need for monitoring in the vineyard.
The first half of September still suffered a lack of sunshine, which suggests a difficult vintage.
Fortunately, an extraordinary Indian summer begins on September 14 and continues until October 20, completely reversing the situation.
These good climatic conditions preceding the harvest raise the alcohol levels and allow very good phenolic maturity to be obtained from the grapes.
In order to obtain optimal ripening of the berries and to take advantage of the very good weather conditions, the harvest is delayed and takes place from October 2 to 15, allowing the grapes to be brought in in excellent health.
We had to be patient to harvest the 2008 vintage, which was particularly demanding, from the vines to vinification. This extraordinary vintage produced wines which nevertheless promise to be of remarkable quality.
DOMAIN
Château Mouton Rothschild has 90 hectares of vines to the North-West of Bordeaux, on the edge of the Médoc peninsula itself located, as its name suggests, in medio aquae, in the middle of the waters: to the East the Gironde estuary, to the west the Atlantic Ocean. The Médoc vineyard, which dates back to Roman times, currently has an area of approximately 16,500 hectares. It is planted on a narrow strip of land 80 km long and 5 to 10 km wide, close to the river which irrigates it in depth and moderates temperature variations. Leaning against the northern tip of the Landes forest, it benefits from the mild oceanic climate while being protected from its excesses.
As in any major wine-growing region, the vagaries of geology and microclimates produce wines of very different nature and quality in Médoc, some having to settle for the generic Médoc, Haut-Médoc or Bordeaux appellations. The elite is found within a few prestigious municipal appellations: Margaux, Saint Julien, Saint-Estèphe... Among these, one of the most renowned is undoubtedly Pauillac, the land of choice for the Cabernet-Sauvignon grape variety, which was introduced there at the beginning of the 19th century. The Pauillac appellation includes on its approximately 1,200 hectares three of the five “Premiers Crus Classés du Médoc and Graves”: Lafite, Latour and Mouton. With, around this glorious trio, fifteen of the sixty Médoc wines retained by the famous Classification of 1855.
Did you know ?
- 1853: Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, wishing to serve his own wine to his prestigious guests, buys Château Brane-Mouton at auction. The property, located in the heart of the Médoc in Pauillac, will now bear its name: Château Mouton Rothschild.
- 1924: Baron Philippe de Rothschild, great-grandson of Baron Nathaniel, took charge of the destiny of the estate in 1922. Two years later, he imposed full bottling at the château - although the wine was until then there delivered in barrels to traders. Also in 1924, Baron Philippe entrusted Jean Carlu with the task of illustrating the label of the vintage, but the initiative, too early, remained short-lived.
- 1933: In a spirit of loyalty to the Médoc, Baron Philippe acquired in 1933 a small trading company located in Pauillac, and promised a bright future under its current name: Baron Philippe de Rothschild. This produces and markets in particular Mouton Cadet, created in 1930, and today the leading brand in Bordeaux.
AOC in the world.
- 1945: To celebrate the victory of the Allies and mark its
Back on his land, Baron Philippe asked the artist Philippe Julian to illustrate the Mouton Rothschild label: the V for Victory was displayed on the bottles, and it was a total success. Since then, the vintage label has been illustrated each year by the reproduction of an original work of art, specially created for Mouton by a contemporary artist.
- 1973: After a long fight from Baron Philippe, Château Mouton Rothschild attained the rank of Premier Cru Classé, of which it had been unjustly deprived during the 1855 Classification. Mouton finally joined officially, by decree signed by Jacques Chirac aloi minister of Agriculture, an elite to which he de facto belonged for a long time.
- 2006: On September 28, during an auction organized by Christie's in Beverly Hills, a lot of twelve bottles of Mouton Rothschild 1945 reached $290,000, while a lot of six magnums of the same vintage sold for $345 000 $. Château Mouton Rothschild 1945 then became “the most expensive wine in the world”.
DELIVERY
- Deliveries only in France and Europe
- Express delivery to Paris
- Pick-up at the Paris store is free
You can add more quantities of products to the cart