2016 Mouton Rothschild Le Petit Mouton
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Cedar, earth and black currant aromas. Lovely fruit and a medium to full body, with polished tannins that complement the fruit. Approachable now. Drink or hold. 10 Years On retrospective.
Critic scores
James Suckling
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Falls slap bang exactly where you want it, and a true stepping stone, or upramp onto the 1st wine, love it. Creme caramel, campfire, cold ash, brambed blackberry and damson fruits, plentiful tannins laced with espresso and black chocolate with the grilled vanilla bean of new oak, measured and melted. Who wouldn't enjoy sinking into this? Philippe Dhalluin technical director.
The 2016 Le Petit Mouton has a very expressive, outgoing bouquet of copious red and black fruit, cedar and mint; scents of pressed violet petals emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with very supple tannins, very lithe and pliant. The caressing, silky-smooth finish of tobacco-tinged red fruit reveals a dab of spiciness on the aftertaste. Two bottles tasted, one just missing some backbone, although the second is better. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting.
Tasted blind. First bottle: Savoury yeast-extract nose. A little awkward and sinewy on the palate. Lots of greenness on the end. Actually very hard work. Second bottle: Still rather an indistinct nose. Then some fruit and pace on the palate, though very drying finish overall. But the juice and freshness saves it. (JR)
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.