Quantcast
Warning: include() [function.include]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/twoway/public_html/food/wineday/2000/wd1100/wd112200.html on line 24

Warning: include(http://globalgourmet.com/includes/nav1.html) [function.include]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/twoway/public_html/food/wineday/2000/wd1100/wd112200.html on line 24

Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://globalgourmet.com/includes/nav1.html' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/twoway/public_html/food/wineday/2000/wd1100/wd112200.html on line 24

Warning: include() [function.include]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/twoway/public_html/food/wineday/2000/wd1100/wd112200.html on line 29

Warning: include(http://globalgourmet.com/includes/banner468.html) [function.include]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/twoway/public_html/food/wineday/2000/wd1100/wd112200.html on line 29

Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://globalgourmet.com/includes/banner468.html' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/twoway/public_html/food/wineday/2000/wd1100/wd112200.html on line 29

by Fred McMillin
for November 22, 2000

 

Buy a Rothschild?
You Must Be Kidding


Prologue

Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, Pauillac, Bordeaux, 1995 Price: two hundred to two hundred ninety dollars.

The Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 1945 was probably one of the greatest wines ever produced.

...The Wine Spectator


The Rest of the Story

So what are two Baron Philippe de Rothschild wines doing in my last, tight-budget blind tasting? Let's stick with the Spectator for the answer:

"The famed Bordeaux firm, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, is moving into the Languedoc area of southern France and aims to produce Bordeaux-style wines there."

...William Echikson.

Sanignon Blanc is the best Bordeaux white-wine grape, so guess what variety made our...


Our Wine of the Day

Baron Philippe de RothschildBaron Philippe de Rothschild Sauvignon Blanc, 1998
Vin de Pay d'Oc (van doo peh-yee means "wine of region"; d'Oc is one of those regions, and extends along the southern coast of France from the Spanish border in the west to the Rhone River in the east. It produces the majority of French wines that show the name of the principal grape...in this case, Sauvignon Blanc.)
Price—You aren't paying for expensive land or centuries of prestige for this d'Oc wine...so while the Bordeaux Mouton is $200+, this d'Oc Blanc is eleven bucks! That's how it got into my tastings.
My Panel's Appraisal—Their notes include "Lovely aroma," and "good flavors." They voted RECOMMENDED IN ITS PRICE RANGE.
Contact—Lorraine Raguseo, (212) 765-7279, FX (212) 765-7303


Postscript

The Rothschilds' rise after the French Revolution from a German ghetto to amass the world's greatest private fortune at that time was astonishing. and they bought more than two great Bordeaux wineries. One minor estate included a swimming pool, a bowling alley, an ice-rink, an Indian pavilion and a private circus ring.

...N. Ferguson, The House of Rothschild.

 

About the Writer

Fred McMillin, a veteran wine writer, has taught wine history for 30 years on three continents. In 1995, the Academy of Wine Communications honored Fred with one of only 22 Certificates of Commendation awarded to American wine writers. For information about the wine courses he teaches every month at either San Francisco State University or San Francisco City College (Fort Mason Division), please fax him at (415) 567-4468.
 
 

 
 

This page created November 2000

Top