Chateau Mouton Rothschild (Futures Pre-Sale) 2011

Professional Ratings

• 96 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  Mouton's classic note of creme de cassis is well-displayed in this inky purple-colored wine. Significantly more powerful, rich and textured than its nearby neighbor, Lafite Rothschild, Mouton boasts superb intensity, stunning concentration, and plenty of sweet tannin. This is an impressively built, full-throttle wine that will require 5-8 years of cellaring and should keep for 25-30 years thereafter. It should prove to be one of the longest-lived wines of the vintage.
  Barrel Sample: 93-96 Points
• 95 Wine Spectator
  This delivers a gorgeously pure beam of cassis and cherry compote, with singed apple wood, graphite and iron notes hanging in the background for now. Long and polished through the finish, showing serious depth in reserve. Best from 2018 through 2035.
• 95 James Suckling
  This is delicious with a gorgeous ripe fruit with hints of chocolate, lightly toasted oak and blueberries. Salty and savory. Long and very caressing. But then it goes on for a long, long time with firm tannins. Is it a baby 1986, one of the greats of Mouton? 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc.
  Barrel Sample: 94-95 Points
• 94 Wine Enthusiast
  Deep ruby-red. Spicy red cherry, fresh blackcurrant, bay leaf, and cedar on the nose. Enters the mouth fresh and juicy, with bright acidity lifting the creamy red and black fruit flavors. Finishes clean and long, with mouthwatering acidity and supple charm. A knockout Mouton and one of the stars of the vintage. Director Philippe Dhalluin told me this wine reminded him of the '95 in some respects even though that wine has more flesh. This vintage marks the return of cabernet franc in Mouton's blend: it was last used in 2005, but then only 1%. Dhalluin told me he thought long and hard about this issue, worrying that adding cabernet franc might make the wine softer.
  Barrel Sample: 92-94 Points