2021 Le Petit Mouton
Buying options
Tasting notes
Le Petit Mouton rarely disappoints and, even in a more challenging vintage like 2021, it retains a wonderful elegance and high level of precision. There is wonderful clarity to the cassis fruit and a real crispness too. This has moderate levels of concentration which fits perfectly with its elegant profile. Despite its linearity, there is a good concentration of juicy fruit and it comes across as a very complete wine that will give years of drinking pleasure. If the second wines have largely suffered in 2021, Le Petit Mouton is the most notable exception. Aged in 50% new oak. Blend: 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19.5% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 0.5% Petit Verdot
Critic scores
Average Score
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Bright crimson. Sweet and sweaty. Then very toasty and flattering. Not top-drawer but wanting to please. (JR)
The second wine of this great château, the 2021 Le Petit Mouton De Mouton Rothschild offers up a mini-Mouton-like nose of pure cassis, graphite, and spicy oak and hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a deep, layered mid-palate, plenty of fruit and richness, and almost velvety tannins. Based on 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, aged in 50% new barrels, this textured, focused, impressively concentrated 2021 will benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age (which is rare for a second wine) and cruise for 10-15+ years in cold cellars.
As I found out of barrel, the 2021 Le Petit Mouton has a pronounced graphite/pencil box-scented bouquet that makes it very classic in style. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins for a Deuxième Vin and fine salinity—a Le Petit Mouton with grip and backbone. There’s maybe just a little hardness to contend with toward the finish? Give this two or three years in bottle.
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.