2022 Le Petit Mouton
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Tasting notes
The Petit Mouton is a beautifully complex Pauillac, full of nuance and flair. The wine is bursting with a blend of fresh red and black fruit (raspberry, blackberry, cassis) as well as more dried fruit tones. What is most impressive about the wine, beyond its concentration, is its tannin structure. The tannins effortlessly glide and disperse across the dense, rich wall of fruit, bringing depth and energy to the palate. Aged in 60% new oak, 14.2% alcohol. Blend: 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot
Critic scores
Average Score
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
The 2022 Le Petit Mouton has a well-defined bouquet with graphite-tinged black fruit that gains intensity in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, quite peppery in style but there is ample sapidity and freshness on the finish. Very fine. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.
The 2022 Le Petit Mouton opens in the glass with aromas of ripe black fruits, cigar wrapper, loamy soil and saddle leather. Full-bodied, rich and layered, it's built around powdery tannins that assert themselves on the discreetly drying finish. Greater aromatic purity and structural integration would have seen this score higher.
Up there with the top second wines in the vintage, the deep purple-hued 2022 Le Petit Mouton De Mouton Rothschild offers up textbook Pauillac (and Mouton) notes of ripe black fruits, spicy wood, crushed stone, and graphite, with a terrific floral character with air. It's medium to full-bodied, pure, layered, and flawlessly balanced. Drink bottles over the coming two decades.
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.