Benchmark Wines by

Mouton Rothschild

The Winery

Château Mouton Rothschild

"Premier Je suis, Second Je fus, Mouton ne change. (First I am, second I was, but Mouton does not change)"
- Baron Phillipe de Rothschild

This was the Baron’s response to Mouton being denied First Growth Bordeaux status initially, and then promoted to the desired classification in 1973. Baron Phillipe de Rothschild is the father of many great French wine estates, including Mouton, Lafite la Muete, Rieussec and L’Evangile, to name a few. Mouton hails from Pauillac in the Medoc region, and is known to be among the elitist wines of the world along with Lafite, d’Yquem and DRC.

A bottle of Mouton is a piece of history, because even the most recent vintages boast a heritage that battled drought, disease, frost, and the Second World War. Rothschild survived, though he lost his wife at the time in 1945 (Elizabeth de Rothschild), who did not survive a concentration camp. Anyone can appreciate the history here, and it’s impossible to ignore the artwork that adorns it. Each vintage, an artist is commissioned to create a new, special label for the wines of Mouton. Some of the names most recognizable include Warhol, Picasso, Chagall, Kandinsky, Dali and even Prince Charles of Wales. To praise the wines would be redundant- stylistically flashy, vibrant, intense mineral and tobacco flavors and opulent. Mouton IS luxury.

www.chateau-mouton-rothschild.com

2002
Out of Stock
1.5L
V94
JS93
CT93
WA91
WS91
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Tasting Notes

WA91
Tasted blind as a vintage comparison at the Valandraud vertical, the 2002 Mouton-Rothschild is a wine that burned brightly in its youth, though recent encounters suggest that maybe it is beginning to flag as it enters what you might call middle age. Here, it has a conservative bouquet with blackberry, cedar, warm bricks and melted tar aromas - an unfussy, uncomplicated, quite serious Pauillac bouquet. The palate is well balanced with crisp acidity. It feels lively on the entry with fine tannin, a Mouton that is nimble on its feet with a gentle grip towards the finish, which offers a satisfying aftertaste of spice and clove. It does not mirror some of the outstanding bottles I consumed within the first decade of its life, and peering into this First Growth, it is difficult to see whether it will repay those who cellar it longer. Tasted December 2016.
WS91
Complex aromas of tobacco, cedar, berry and currants. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and ripe tannins. Not as good as a barrel sample tasted earlier, but still outstanding for the vintage. Best after 2009.

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