Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2004

WINE SPECTATOR: "This shows lots of mulled spice, warm tobacco leaf and well-roasted cedar accents, but isn't short on fruit, offering enticing layers of red currant, plum and blackberry confiture. The long finish is riddled with sweet smoke, black tea and iron notes. A gorgeous wine from an overlooked vintage.--Non-blind Mouton-Rothschild vertical (March 2017). Best from 2020 through 2035. 23,000 cases made."

JAMES SUCKLING: "A dense and pretty wine for this less-than-optimum vintage. Full to medium body with firm and polished tannins. Flavors of currants, berries, mint and spearmint. Just ready to drink now."

WEINWISSER: "Sehr dunkles Purpur, dunkler, rubiner Rand. Wuchtiges Bouquet, nach schwarzen Kirschen und Mokka duftend, wuchtig und relativ offen. Im Gaumen samtig, füllig, weich und mit einer tollen, primären Fruchtaromatik ausgestattet, Lakritze, langes Finale, jetzt schon ein enormes Weinvergnügen."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Dark crimson. Fresh and gorgeous. Ready. Just very very slightly stringy on the end. "

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Still quite youthful, even though it lacks the concentration and flamboyance, the wine still has plenty to offer. Medium/full-bodied, the wine focuses on cedar, tobacco leaf, red currants and forest floor notes in the perfume, the nose. Fresh, bright red fruits and spice box notes on the soft refined palate complete the finish. The wine needs another 5 years n the cellar before it moves completely into its secondary stage."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "A wine that is powerful, highly extracted and intense. The chocolate flavors and serious, dry tannins go with big, fat blackberry fruits and finishing acidity."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Last tasted three or four years ago, the 2004 Mouton-Rothschild is a satisfactory wine, even if in my opinion it pales again subsequent success in so-called "challenging" vintages such as 2006 or 2008. It came across tight and broody on the nose, a hint of seaweed tincturing the black fruit, later on a whiff of smoke. It does not feel as refined as either the 2004 Lafite-Rothschild or the 2004 Latour. The palate is medium-bodied and shows more class than the aromatics: cohesive and with just the right amount of grip, a little chewy perhaps but with a pleasant saline sensation towards the "correct" finish. It ticks all the boxes but does not go that extra mile. Tasted September 2016."