Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Gun metal, blackcurrants, stones and blueberries. Sweet tobacco, too. Full-bodied, firm and powerful. Very minerally. 93% cabernet. Needs three to four years to soften. Layered and beautiful. Second wine of Mouton.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Le Petit Mouton has quite a sophisticated bouquet with black fruit, black truffle, pencil box and a light marine influence. The palate is medium-bodied with a graphite-driven entry, the acidity very well judged, gently building towards an elegant, supple finish that seems to caress the mouth. These days, Le Petit Mouton is equal to many Grand Vin in Pauillac—a remarkable melioration over the last decade.
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Wine Enthusiast
With its high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon, this second wine of Mouton-Rothschild is packed with black currant fruit as well as the intense acidity of the vintage. The fruit is rich, ripe and dark with tannins and black plum flavors. There is spice and toast from the wood aging that will soften as the wine ages. Drink from 2023.
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Wine Spectator
Very pure, with a gorgeous core of cassis and plum fruit infused with a bright anise note, all draped over a solid but rounded structure. Iron-edged grip pulls everything into tight focus, ending with a mouthwatering echo. Best from 2020 through 2030.
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Decanter
With 93% Cabernet, this is more briary and powerful than usual, but still finely structured. The Mouton richness is there to come out.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
The leader on the Left Bank in number of first growth classified producers within its boundaries, Pauillac has more than any of the other appellations, at three of the five. Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild border St. Estephe on its northern end and Chateau Latour is at Pauillac’s southern end, bordering St. Julien.
While the first growths are certainly some of the better producers of the Left Bank, today they often compete with some of the “lower ranked” producers (second, third, fourth, fifth growth) in quality and value. The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification that goes back to 1855. The finest chateaux in that year were judged on the basis of reputation and trading price; changes in rank since then have been miniscule at best. Today producers such as Chateau Pontet-Canet, Chateau Grand Puy-Lacoste, Chateau Lynch-Bages, among others (all fifth growth) offer some of the most outstanding wines in all of Bordeaux.
Defining characteristics of fine wines from Pauillac (i.e. Cabernet-based Bordeaux Blends) include inky and juicy blackcurrant, cedar or cigar box and plush or chalky tannins.
Layers of gravel in the Pauillac region are key to its wines’ character and quality. The layers offer excellent drainage in the relatively flat topography of the region allowing water to run off into “jalles” or streams, which subsequently flow off into the Gironde.