With a combined age of 132, it has taken a considerable amount of time for the Goedhuis brothers to hold a joint event but it was worth the wait. In November, Michael and I held a dinner at Asia House to celebrate the extraordinary work of Xu Lei, the great Chinese line painter and the creator of the Ch Mouton Rothschild 2008 label, and the wines of Ch Mouton Rothschild.
Baroness Philippine, her husband, Jean-Pierre and son, Julien came over from Paris for the evening.
As guests arrived they were offered a glass of Louis Roederer Brut Premier, of which I honestly believe that at the moment there isn’t a better Cuvée of NV Champagne.
Before dinner we had the chance to taste the Ch Mouton Rothschild 2008. For the aesthetes amongst you, the label of the 2008 is really beautiful, but for the oenophiles, of even more importance is that the 2008 is a glorious wine. It is not a powerhouse but quite delicious, surprisingly open and beautifully balanced. It will be ready to drink in 5 or 6 years which is earlier than I would have expected.
At dinner, we began with Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jean 2008. Paul Pillot’s wines are just getting better and better. They are fabulous, not overpriced and at a time when customers are beginning to lose confidence in White Burgundy it’s great to have a Domaine producing such consistently good wine.
Then it was on to the superb Ch Mouton Rothschild 1990. This is a wine that Robert Parker damned with faint praise and gave a score of 84/100. This is a truly lovely wine, giving immense pleasure. It is elegant, balanced, with lovely berry fruits and very good length. It was delicious and for anyone who has this in their cellar they are in for a treat.
This was the second time that I had recently tasted a low scoring 1990. A week before I was invited to Zuma for dinner and was offered Ch Pichon Lalande 1990. I knew that Robert Parker scored this a miserable 79/100, so I sipped the 1st glass with trepidation and I was amazed by the quality as this is a hugely enjoyable wine. So good in fact that my very generous host ordered 4 further bottles. The Asia House dinner ended with Ch Rieussec 1998 which was really well received and a fitting end to such a wonderful evening.
