Tasting Note:
The Mouton range has impressed us again. This estate keeps on improving and excluding the 2006, the 2009 is the best young Mouton we have tasted. A kaleidoscopic bouquet of minerals, earth, brooding dark fruits, truffle, salts, graphite and blueberries. Layer after layer of decadent sweet fruit delights the palate. This possesses enormous power, however, it is not a monolith, it has a demure quality to match the brash power. This is multidimensional and very engaging with an explosion of fruit, spice and liquorice and a latent power that underpins it. Although a massively concentrated wine, there is a fineness and silky texture, which is very alluring. A marriage of power and charm. 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot.
"The 2009 Mouton Rothschild has a striking label from Anish Kapoor. The wine is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot that begs comparison as a young wine with what the 1982 tasted like in 1985 or, I suspect, what the 1959 may have tasted like in 1962. Representing 50% of their production, the wine has an inky purple color to the rim and not terribly high alcohol for a 2009 (13.2%), but that is reflected by the high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a remarkable nose of lead pencil shavings, violets, creme de cassis and subtle barrique smells. It is stunningly opulent, fat, and super-concentrated, but the luxurious fruit tends to conceal some rather formidable tannins in the finish. This is an amazing wine that will be slightly more drinkable at an earlier age than I thought from barrel, but capable of lasting 50 or more years. Kudos to the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and the entire Mouton team, lead by Monsieur Dalhuin." 99+/100 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #199