Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Extremely perfumed with dried flowers and dark berries such as plums and cherries. Sandalwood, too. Full body, integrated tannins and chocolate, walnut and cedar character. Goes on for minutes. Superb second wine of Mouton. Drink in 2022.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The winner of the second wines in 2015 is unquestionably the 2015 Le Petit Mouton De Mouton Rothschild, which is a Cabernet Sauvignon dominated blend that includes 17% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Ripe, full-bodied, opulent and incredibly satisfying, with loads of crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil and hints of tobacco, it has more depth and texture than most estate’s top wine.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This second label of Mouton Rothschild is composed of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, representing approximately 25% of the crop. Medium-deep garnet purple colored, the 2015 Le Petit Mouton opens with ripe, seductive cassis, crushed blackberries and black forest cake notes giving way to hints of menthol, new leather, chargrill and bouquet garni. Medium to full-bodied with a bright, racy line of refreshing acidity cutting through the generous flavors, it has a solid frame of grainy tannins and a vibrant finish. Very impressive.
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Decanter
Bright, broad cassis fruit and all the exuberance typical of Mouton, but more grip than in the past thanks to the new cellar. No hint here of this being a second wine.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine is dense and packed with tannins. Its weight and smoky character balance against the generous black currants. Juiciness and acidity go together with the generous structure. Drink from 2024.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and fresh, with a well-endowed core of cassis, cherry preserve and raspberry paste flavors, moving through steadily and picking up anise, roasted apple wood and bright iron accents along the way. Best from 2020 through 2030.
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.