A 100 Point Wine for a 100 Point Guy on his 100th Birthday!



By John ~ October 8th, 2010.

September 30th would have been my dad’s 100th birthday. He and my mom were married 52 years before he passed away in 1990. Despite an education interrupted in the eighth grade to go to work to help support the family, Dad was a successful businessman, church leader, and school board member in Texas City, Texas. I never heard him use a curse word in his entire life, and he always had a big smile on his face. Thanks, Dad, for the good example you set for us.

In honor of my dad, LaGayle and I along with Kori, Colby, and granddaughter Sydney, had a great birthday dinner with a very special wine that I had saved for the occasion, a 1986 Chateau Mouton Rothschild. LaGayle prepared one of her fabulous dinners that included a mixed green salad, grilled filet mignon, baked sweet potatoes, and balsamic roasted green beans. Dad would have loved it!

Chateau Mouton Rothschild is one of the famous First Growths of Bordeaux, the only one elevated to that status after the original 1855 classification. After years and years of lobbying by then-owner Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild was promoted to First Growth (or Premier Cru) status in 1973. Today, Chateau Mouton Rothschild is owned by his daughter Baroness Philippine and her children and continues to be regarded as one of the world’s finest wines.

While the 1986 Mouton had been rated 100 points by Robert Parker and touted as one of Jancis Robinson’s tasting group favorites, this bottle on this night was not quite that good, nor quite as good as the 1982 Mouton that we had earlier this year for Open That Bottle Night, although it was still an outstanding wine.

1986 Chateau Mouton Rothschild (Pauillac, Médoc, Bordeaux, France): Deep, dark, garnet red in color. On the nose, black fruit, leather, a hint of spice, and an earthy funk which mostly blows off after some time in the glass. On the palate, still has good fruit, especially black plums and black currants. Delicious, chewy, and a lot of layers to this wine. Full-bodied with lively acidity and medium to high tannins. Well-balanced with an extremely long finish. Decanted 2 hours prior to serving. The cork was in very good shape, the fill level still very good for a 24-year-old wine, and the alcohol was only 12.5%.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 1 bang for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Hart Davis Hart (Chicago, Illinois), $350; Available elsewhere, $700 to $1600


Filed under: French Wine, Red Wine, Wines Over $25

Reader's Comments

  1. Stevie | October 8th, 2010 at 9:15 am

    It sounds like you had a lot of fun!

  2. John | October 8th, 2010 at 1:33 pm

    We did. It was a great evening! I’m sure Dad was smiling from up above.

  3. A 100 Point Wine for a 100 Point Guy on his 100th Birthday! | Fantasticbeach3's Blog | October 19th, 2010 at 2:22 pm

    […] A 100 Point Wine for a 100 Point Guy on his 100th Birthday! was originally posted on Wine Peeps on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:00 UTC. Wine Peeps – Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond. […]