2021 Mouton Rothschild
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Tasting Notes
Ch. Mouton Rothschild was certainly a highlight on the Left Bank in 2021 – a wine that has found a decent core of power and tension that oscillates through the palate. The tannins are dense and beautifully layered, while the distinct cassis fruit has great clarity, integrated beautifully with the high-quality, peppery, spicy oak tones which add further complexity. Despite the structural qualities, the tannins are supple and fine. This is more restrained than in recent years (coming in at 13.1% alcohol), as is expected given the vintage, but the wine is no less precise and there is a wonderful elegance here – as well as an impressively long finish. Excellent. Blend: 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc
Critic Scores
Average Score
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2021 Château Mouton Rothschild is terrific, and while it plays in the more medium-bodied, elegant style of the vintage, it's perfectly balanced and has plenty of richness as well as texture. A blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, brought up in new barrels, it's a charming, balanced, elegant, forward Mouton.
The 2021 Mouton Rothschild is a potent, tightly wound Pauillac that will need a number of years to come together. Driving in its intensity, with searing tannins, the 2021 comes across as a bit severe today, with less of the charm and sensuality that is such a Mouton signature. That said, I was not thrilled with the quality of either of the two samples of the Grand Vin I tasted.
The 2021 Mouton Rothschild marks a return to the classic style of this First Growth after three hot vintages. Unsurprisingly, the Cabernet Sauvignon takes control and expresses cigar smoke and graphite aromas. This is very well defined, yet examining the wine over several minutes, I was searching in vain for that "magic touch" exuded in recent vintages. The palate is beautifully-knit, quite edgy on the opening, comparatively slender and markedly sapid. Unapologetically linear on the finish, it is as if the growing season snipped off the frills that defines a great Mouton-Rothschild. This is a very fine First Growth, yet I hope it just gains a bit of weight and, to use a more accurate word, "presence", during the remainder of its barrel maturation. 13.1% alcohol
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.