Wine: 1988 Mouton Rothschild
Region: Bordeaux
Sokolin Price: $525/btl
Rating: 91 RP-HG
Last Wednesday, Robert Parker published his scores and tasting notes of the 2010 Bordeaux futures. Every year at this time, members of the trade - from producers to retailers - anxiously await the release of his scores. We constantly check our smart phones waiting for Parker to announce to the world how each chateau ranks. And last Wednesday, Parker confirmed what the buzz has been the last few months - that 2010, in fact, was another good vintage, which also marks the fourth great vintage of the first decade of the new millennium. To be able to produce four superb vintages in ten years is a pure testament to the excellent winemaking skills of the Bordelaise. And on this day, we thought it would be appropriate to honor, toast and enjoy the fruits of their labor by opening up a bottle of back vintage Bordeaux, and a first growth, 1988 Mouton Rothschild.
Since we opened this gem of a bottle late in the evening after already having a quiet dinner at a local restaurant, we paired it with slices of dry aged Italian salami. With scents of spices, herbs and dark fruit, this wine showed off a gorgeous ruby red color, and while slightly closed in the beginning, it really opened up after spending some time in the decanter. It revealed its complexity more and more after each sip, although the finish may not have been as long as we thought it would be. While 1988 was not a great vintage for Bordeaux in general, the 1988 Mouton was still amazing. It goes back to the old saying that excellent winemakers find a way of turning out great wine even if other external forces are pushing against them.
The sad thing with Bordeaux is that it is quickly becoming unattainable for many wine consumers because of cost. The price seems to inch upwards every month. We remember when the "Super Seconds" were considered casual, every day drinking wines that you didn't feel guilty about drinking without an occasion or celebration. Even in Parker's most recent release of The Wine Advocate, he states, "Today, the world is shocked by skyrocketing prices for 30 or 40 châteaux. Normally this would look like a bubble ready to burst. However, that does not look to be the case. The fact is, the demand continues to increase and the quantity of these wines remains the same as it has for decades." - Robert Parker
Where we continue to locate value is in the back-vintage Bordeaux market like the 1988 Moutons and the many other wines that we offer at Sokolin on a daily basis. Currently, we are selling through our stock of 80s and 90s Bordeaux, and it is diminishing quickly. Our own Dave Sokolin has recently said, "The back-vintage wine market is undervalued and you could see many of these wines double in price in the not-so-distant future." We know this isn't the first time you've heard this from us, but we hope you take our advice because prices in the back-vintage Bordeaux market are steadily climbing before our eyes.
Our Recommendation: If you are a lover of Bordeaux, stock up on some back-vintage Bordeaux now before the prices are released on the 2010 vintage. In the near distant future, we will see prices of the back-vintage Bordeaux market climb to a point where only the wealthiest of the already wealthy can afford these bottles.
Our Table Score - 92 points.