Went to Mouton in 99 and bought a bottle of 97. Have been sitting on it and, on account of the next 4.5 months going to be ruined by chemo, thought I might as well drink it tonight with friends who would get the point.

God, it smelt of heaven. I spent most of the evening smelling it. The perfect smell. So gentle, so mellow, so perfumed. Now, 97 was pretty much the worst vintage ever, but only in that it won't last. Right now, it is beautiful. It smelt much more Margaux than Pauillac. Beautifully perfumed. Smooth, gentle and just precisely balanced. Long, but soft. Was slightly selfish and didn't share it all that much. I was surrounded by white wine girls and so kept the bottle at my end of the table and just kept pouring. There was some good Rioja at the other end of the table, and I kept quiet. A great evening.

That sounds selfish, but they had their fair share. Mine was fairer.

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mel

Mel. Perfect timimg in the circumstances, 'a point for this 1st Growth says Bill Blatch (see below) You deserve a treat at the moment.

This is what Bill Blatch on Bordoverview Blog said of the wine in February this year.
I can't wait to taste the 2009's myself (which will happen end of March - beginning of April as I mentioned earlier).

Then for something completely different... the Mouton-Rothschild 1997 that Dwayne wrote about in the previous posting - Jane Anson twittered about this posting "love the understated handover moment", and I fully agree with that. It is this kind of selfless spontaneous energy between people that makes life beautiful - say the familiar "small things".

This energy continued its flow into my, and Jan van Roekel's, direction, as Dwayne kindly invited us to share this special bottle with us. Let's start with my conclusion: I found this Grand Vin extremely quaffable, and I don't mean that as an insult. It was so attractive and supple that I found it difficult to sip and taste in a restrained manner, as one might be supposed to do when drinking a premier grand cru classé.

So how would I describe this Pauillac: the nose reveals a mature Bordeaux, with a hint of blood (iodine), wet forest floor and old leather. In the mouth the Mouton comes across soft, mouth-filling and intense. Refined and delicious. The wine is elegant yet quite masculine with dark blackberry fruit. Lovely purple-sweet it is, soft and gripping. A delicious wine and very much à point right now. If you still own 1997s, I would suggest bring these out of your cellar!

None of that nectar has ever passed my lips. One day I might be in the company of someone who has the income to stock a few, but for now, I'm happy to be entertained by desciptions of this wine from those fortunate enough to enjoy a wine of that calibre which is truely fabulous.

Can you get the label off ? I've had enormous trouble getting labels off for my book. The more important the wine, the more difficult it is to remove.

I have failed on the best ones in recent years, and of course this is done to stop fraud and deception.

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Duncan

Sorry to hear about the chemo, Mel. My thoughts are with you.

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tribs

Thanks Tribs.

Duncan, try these, they work beautifully. They're like sticky backed plastic. You put them over the label, rub a bit (there are instructions) and when you pull it off front half of the label's stuck to it, with about a cm margin and you stick it into your book. I left the bottle at my host's because what am I going to do with the bottle/label. It'll just sit around until I get sick of it and bin it.

http://www.thewinejournal.co.uk/winelabelremovers.html

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mel

Thanks Mel.

Wine books, with label positions and tasting notes have been given to me by my kids over the years. They do provide some memory, and could be a good pressie Idea, when they need some inspiration - thanks.

** I take your point. And, you have enjoyed that beautiful wine.

I had a few much lesser Margaux wine bottles kicking around in the boot for far too long.....sad.

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Mel, the chemo; this is your deep clean everywhere, and although a foul and painful course of treatment, you are then completely clear with this final measure. I sincerely hope that during the treatment, the side effects are not too damn debilitating for you.

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Duncan