WTN: Mouton Cadet 2003

Bordeaux.

Okay, you can stop laughing now. This was gifted to us over Christmas.

Good, dark purple color.

Spicy on the nose, black olives, woody and dark chocolate.

Fairly deep and rich, plum, cherry and berries, smoky, spicy, with a not-unpleasant bitter edge.

A fairly long finish, with black olives and mouthdrying tannins.

No laughing from these quarters, Bruce! Mouton Cadet, at one time very long ago, was a semi-regular feature on my dinner table. The way it happened was that someone had brought a white Mouton Cadet over, probably in 1987 or thereabouts, and of course with me being younger and not into wine at that time, the bottle was simply stored upright in a china cabinet for about 12 years. When I took notice of it and was already into wine as a hobby, I decided to open the bottle when family came over to see what had become of its contents. The wine inside was beyond dead - it had a golden-brown colour and some earthy hints but also a huge whack of garlicky mercaptans. I wondered then if the wine had ever been any good - they say that white Bordeaux, until quite recently, was typically lacklustre stuff. Of course, storage played a big role too, but it's not like this was ageworthy Riesling or something.

Now, with that digression aside, I will say that I haven't had Mouton Cadet Rouge for several years now, though the few times I tried it I thought it to be a far superior wine to the ever popular "Le Piat d'Or" that sold (and probably continues to sell) boatloads here in Canada. There are many bottom-of-the-trough French wines that are quite a bit worse than M-C.

Thanks Paul.

Funny you should mention Le Piat d'Or. My wife and I were recently at (non-wine) friends for dinner. When I asked for wine, I was offered either the husband's homemade (terrible stuff) or Piat d'Or red. I ordered the latter and, truth to tell, it wasn't half bad - better than I had thought it would be.

In fact, I recall I had three glasses.

You know, Bruce, I could swear that they have improved Piat d'Or in recent years. Just about 5 years ago, though, it was absolutely horrific stuff - tasted like diluted grain spirits with a dash of red wine vinegar from the supermarket. I avoided it like the plague. Now, though, I think that they actually make it from Gamay or something.

...My wife and I were recently at (non-wine) friends for dinner. When I asked for wine, I was offered either the husband's homemade (terrible stuff) or ...

Why would a non-wine person make wine? It's people like this that give us home winemakers a bad name.

Howie, they probably want to dabble in the hobby a bit. Just this past fall I helped a friend of mine make some wine - but it was from purchased juice trucked in from somewhere, apparently California. The juice fermented to completion and we tasted the wine (supposedly Cabernet, but it was NOT Cabernet, let me tell you) and it tasted like a white-juice base with a bit of colour added in, maybe from spent red-grape skins or something. Also, the wine is dry, but tastes like there's still sugar in it. It had me thinking whether they put aspartame in the juice or something just to give non-wine people a feeling of sweetness, but of course it wouldn't re-ferment. Awful, nasty stuff. Personally, I would never use anything but grapes.

...My wife and I were recently at (non-wine) friends for dinner. When I asked for wine, I was offered either the husband's homemade (terrible stuff) or ...

Why would a non-wine person make wine? It's people like this that give us home winemakers a bad name.

Okay, let me clarify. When I describe them as non-wine people, I actually meant non-wine geek people.

Well, whether a wine person or a wine maker, we all have to start someplace.