Wine Club
Mouton-Rothschild 1945, the wine to end all wars
Master of Wine David Peppercorn tells the story of a remarkable vintage in the history of this famous Grand Cru wine; borne from the chaos of post-occupation France, 1945 not only set a precedent for the wine's quality but saw the establishment of a tradition followed by Mouton-Rothschild to this day
When La Baronne Philippine de Rothschild served 1945 Mouton-Rothschild to more than 200 guests at the Syndicat des Crus Classés Dinner on 21 June 1993, the idea was to pour magnums. But when the maître de chai opened a magnum for inspection, it was decided that the wine in this format was not yet ready and bottles were served instead. Such is the stuff of legends!
One should not, however, go away with the idea that ’45 Mouton is an undrinkable monster. My note made at the dinner speaks of a tremendous bouquet of cassis and a flavour showing great concentration and depth of fruit and tannins, allied to intensity of expression and sweet fruit. The wine was in superb condition and gave great pleasure. Several years earlier in London, I had noted that the wine looked more like a ’61 and that it outshone both Lafite and Latour.
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