1947 - Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac

The 1947 Mouton-Rothschild flirted with perfection when encountered a year earlier. Maybe this bottle is more backward on the nose due to provenance, since it is not quite as ethereal, yet it attests to what must be the best Left Bank of the vintage. It comes replete with exquisite black fruit and razor-sharp delineation, the graphite element heightened with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin, ample freshness and amazing weight. Again, it is the pitch-perfect acidity that defines this formidable Pauillac, which continues to amaze.

The 1947 Mouton Rothschild continues to drink fabulously well, bursting with rich aromas of cassis mingled with espresso roast, cigar wrapper, loamy soil and exotic spices. Full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it remains a thick, textural wine of notable breadth and concentration, displaying a sweet core of fruit, ripe tannins and a long, expansive finish. I have enjoyed even more vibrant, complete bottles of this legendary wine, but this was still a superb example. If I owned any bottles—and alas, I don't—I'd opt to finish them up this decade, but perfectly stored bottles and larger formats clearly have the potential to see out a century not merely intact but in fine form. By the numbers, the 1947 checks in at 12.5% alcohol and pH 3.44.