2017 Mouton Rothschild
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Tasting notes
Tasted blind. Deep ruby-purple colour. Big, bold and smoky nose with plenty of exotic spice overlaying brambly dark fruit. Huge tannic structure matched by plush fruit and very sweetly spiced oak. This is as glossy as the vintage gets without being overdone. Long and smoky finish lined with very persistent, ripe tannins. Chocolatey yet serious, this is very expressive already but needs time to fully knit together. (TP)
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The 2017 Mouton Rothschild is a powerful, brooding wine that very much reflects the high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. Not in the mood to show much, the 2017 is also very much closed in on itself. Time in the glass brings out hints of black cherry jam, wild flowers and spice, but that's about it. Readers will have to be patient with the 2017, but I am not sure Mouton will ever be an elegant wine in this vintage. Time will tell.
The top 2017 Chateau Mouton Rothschild checks in as 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot that spent 18 months in new barrels. This rock star of a wine offers stunning notes of chocolately blackcurrants, toasted spice, and espresso roast, as well as loads of classic Pauillac lead pencil shavings and graphite nuances. It's another wine that starts out slowly yet builds incrementally on the palate with full-bodied richness, ripe, polished tannin, no hard edges, and a stunning sense of purity and elegance. Give bottles upwards of a decade and it will evolve for 30 years or more.
The 2017 Mouton-Rothschild is lucid in colour, quite deep like the Le Petit Mouton. It has a pixelated bouquet with precise blackberry, raspberry and crushed stone aromas, the oak seamlessly integrated so that the aromatics have unerring focus. The palate is medium-bodied with a graphite-tinged entry that is actually reminiscent of Latour in many ways. This Mouton-Rothschild is all about finesse and poise, the acidity beautifully judged and with superb tension on the finish. One of the finest Left Bank wines of the vintage, there are few 2017s superior to this.
About the producer
Pauillac-based Ch. Mouton Rothschild is one of the five First Growths, producing some of the finest wine in Bordeaux and the world. Known for its flamboyant style, the label for the Grand Vin is designed by a different artist each year.