Older Bottles Uncovered After Months of Searching : Inexpensive and Popular Mouton Cadet Performs Well After Cellar Aging

More than 50 vintages have passed since Baron Philippe de Rothschild, proprietor of premiere-ranked Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, introduced Mouton Cadet, a wine that remains America’s most popular claret, even though it is unclassified, uncredentialed and unloved by snooty, big-name Bordeaux wine drinkers. Inexpensively tabbed at about $5, its lack of pristine status has not prevented it from becoming a kind of people’s claret with annual sales in excess of 500,000 cases.

Even in the face of current white wine popularity, mushrooming sales of white Zinfandels and wine coolers, Cadet still stands as a solid, decently made, low-cost French red for daily drinking, which delivers flavorful Bordeaux style more often than not.

That has been Baron Philippe’s goal ever since its debut after three ruinous vintages of 1930, 1931 and 1932, perhaps the worst three consecutive Bordeaux harvests ever, when no one produced wines worthy of bottling for his world-acclaimed Mouton-Rothschild. And so a new claret was conceived, blended from regional wines with a simple generic appellation and a down-to-earth price.

An Instant Success

Never intended as a junior version of Mouton-Rothschild, it was fashioned to be popularly priced good value and not to be confused with Mouton-Rothschild, which depending on the value of the dollar is often selling from 10 to 15 times as much. For Baron Philippe, then as a fledgling vintner (hence the name of Cadet), it was an instant success and marketing coup, which virtually every major Bordeaux claret negociant has tried to emulate. Every time claret wine prices escalate, a new competing simple generic label comes out of Bordeaux, and whereas some have been moderately successful, none have come close to Cadet in overall popular appeal.

As a quick-to-mature, generally ready-to-drink red, Mouton Cadet never has been widely viewed as a popular wine for cellar aging. As an everyday simple wine, it never espoused the grandiose goals of complex aging benefits. Drink now and gone tomorrow was the apparent creed, for immediately another bottle would surface without concern for availability or vintage vicissitudes. Moreover, Cadet buyers never expected anything more, so the practice of aging cheap claret was seldom, if ever, done.

Whereas cellar-aging Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux has been a time-honored tradition, most American wine lovers prefer a soft-textured, appealing, quick-to-mature or ready-to-drink red rather than to patiently wait for a decade’s worth of aging drinkability. They are reluctant to establish space-consuming wine cellars and to tie up hard-earned dollars for expensive, immature wines they may never drink. Inexpensive, unclassified Bordeaux wine, Cadet included, were never serious aging candidates simply because there was no confidence that cellaring would help.

A recent vertical tasting of 16 Cadet vintages proved otherwise. Frankly, I had trepidations since all of my earlier verticals had been reserved for such big names as chateaux Mouton-Rothschild, Lafite, Petrus, Latour, Haut-Brion and Margaux. A major concern was the fear that the wines had not aged well because of inadequate tannin and fruit.

However, if a sufficient number benefited from cellaring, conceivably Cadet could prove to be a viable aging alternative for those unable to afford the bigger names. Besides Cadet, other similarly priced clarets might also be aged. The possibilities would be enormous.

Difficult to Find

The biggest problem was to locate aged Cadets. For such tastings, individual wine collectors usually provide a bottle here or a bottle there, but few are able to supply decades of old vintages. This would be especially true of Cadet. After months of searching through Baron Philippe’s and a host of French and American cellars and shops, a number of older bottles turned up, such as 1961, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979. Interestingly, the first vintage offered in the United States was 1959, then selling for $2.69.

An incredible revelation was that several of the so-called off vintages like ‘77, ‘73, ’72 and ’71 performed beautifully. The ’73 was light and lean in style. It showed some drying but nonetheless had excellent flavor and charm, representing a generous, ready-to-drink, complex wine. The ’71 suggested big chateau -style nose violets and a taste worthy of drinking but a lack of further aging ability, as was the ‘72, although it still had charm and nicely surviving flavor from its blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot. A very decent bottle for today’s drinking.

The ’77 was a shocker. Aging superbly and tasting generously from 75% Merlot grapes, the wine was still round and a bit fat, a welcome mate for today’s pleasure. Better than some of the same-vintaged, expensive, big-name chateaux tasted earlier, this wine no doubt benefited from superior grapes selected from several Bordeaux vineyards, areas not as seriously affected by this difficult vintage. That is why a claret in an off vintage and not limited to a single estate’s grapes can, at times, be superior to a costlier, credentialed bottle.

Best of the bunch, even better than the heralded ‘61, was the ’70 with a lot of violets in its nicely developed bouquet and lovely, rich flavors, full and round, in extraordinary length, depth and charm. It obviously was a beauty for aging, and could not have shown as well without it. When initially released it sold for $4.99.

The ’61 also was true to form with good nose violets, some drying in flavor and shortness of finish. There is intensity here but without the charm and the complexity of the ’70. Nevertheless it benefited from age, but apparently was at its peak several years earlier.

The Best of Bouquets

The best nose, suggesting complex violets and perfume, came from the ‘76, showing considerable balance and depth of flavor. Most agreeable, the Merlot dominated at 70% and provided ripe, appealing flavors, showing a bit of tannin and an ability to continue to age for several more years.

As a tandem, ’79 and ’78 were winners. The ‘79, with 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet, showed better even though it was not from as acclaimed a vintage as ’78. There is delicious claret flavor here, excellent fruit and balance, and although there is some thinning the wine will endure well for several more years, possibly up to five. The ‘78, more appealing now, is showing a bit of drying but unquestionably is at peak form. With 50% Merlot, it is a lovely wine for today’s drinking only.

The logical consumer question is which of the recent vintages are good bets for aging? Avoid the ’80 for lack of structure and fruit, not unlike the others of the vintage and obviously intended only for early drinking. The ‘81, with 60% Cabernet, is a solid choice with elegantly developing, soft-textured, appealing flavors. It also has other good characteristics for longer aging, such as adequate tannin, substance and density. The ‘82, with more Merlot at 65%, shows excellent fruit, an inky, dense texture and lovely, sweet, ripe flavors in length and depth. A wine from an excellent vintage and a prime choice for aging.

Better for today’s drinking, but unable to age as long (perhaps a few more years but not much more), is the ‘83, now showing excellent flavor drinkability in a most attractive, lean and intense style. Extremely drinkable, too, is the ’84. This is not a well-regarded vintage yet there is an agreeable cherry nose and fine soft, seductively flavorful taste. Most satisfying now, there is little tannin here. However, this wine will amply reward after two to three more years of aging.

Those who worry about the high cost of many of the great ’85 clarets ought to consider laying away a supply of Cadet’s 1985 when released in about a year or so. These have delicious, luscious, excellent, ripe fruit flavors, exhibiting a bit of tannin for potentially fine future development. A deep color, density and good structure promise considerable charm and complexity after several (no more than five) years of aging.

Except for the over-the-hill ‘74, the wines as a group, although not world beaters, showed welcome aging propensities suggesting that they may not always be targeted for early consumption. It is rewarding to taste and observe these simple Cadets, sometimes hailed as the “poor man’s” claret, and find the taste pleasures that come only with age.