This wine was a gift from my wife's cousin. We drank this Mouton over 2 hours at a family gathering. This bottle was double decanted 3 hours prior to drinking.Price paid: ???
Tasting Notes:
Color: Deep purple with narrow rim
Nose: Very closed upon opening the bottle. Only showed smoke and hint of fruit. After 3 hours of decanting, it yields tobacco, lead pencil and currant. Approaching the 5th hour, a nice floral aroma scent (although I could not place the scent) was detected.
Palate: After 10 years, this wine just steps into the drinking window. The wine is still a little bit disjointed. Loads of currant, tobacco and leather. Very balanced and structured.
Body: Full but it was not as full as I had imagined. I thought it was thin for a 1st growth.
Finish: 30-40 seconds. Not an amazing finish in any event but nonetheless pleasant. Mostly currant and cedar with a hint of leather.
Comments: While there was no other first growth Bordeaux as comparison at the time of consumption, this wine did not really wow any of us. Maybe it is because the 97 vintage is really so so; maybe this bottle was not stored properly; maybe we did not decant long enough. Who knows? One thing we were certain: 97 Mouton was a nice drink at year 10 and it could still improve slightly with proper cellaring, but it was not worth $180 at time of writing.
