![Château Mouton Rothschild, 1er Cru Classé, Pauillac [BS, SHC]](https://horizonlives3.diageohorizon.com/PR1600/media/images/bottles/family-bottle-0.jpg?fm=avif&q=30 "Château Mouton Rothschild, 1er Cru Classé, Pauillac [BS, SHC]")
critic reviews
The 1995 Mouton Rothschild was tasted from ex-château bottles, and I had not tasted this vintage for a number of years. This puts in a very good performance given that it was not an auspicious decade for the First Growth. A mélange of red and black fruit gradually gives way to cassis on the nose, lending it a rather ostentatious bouquet that was synonymous with Mouton at the time. The palate offers precocious black fruit fused with graphite and prominent cedar aromas. The finish is luscious, maybe too luscious for some, though personally I would be inclined to afford it more time in bottle. Not classy, but very seductive. Tasted at the Académie du Vin dinner in Bordeaux.
The only one of today's First Growths that was in the same family hands in 1855 as today, with Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild arriving in 1853. The story becomes even more interesting because in 1855 Nathaniel could only complain (and he did) as Mouton was placed at the head of the Second Growths. Looking specifically at the wine in front of us here, generally these 1995s are more charming but less concentrated than the 1996s, and can be a real surprise. Showing waves of creamy black cherry, cinnamon, turmeric, tobacco and orange peel, this is understated and moreish, and was a quiet winner among the tasters. Patrick Leon director, with the label by Catalan painter Antoni Tapies.
While the 1995 Mouton Rothschild has begun to soften somewhat in the last six or seven years, it remains remarkably youthful. Offering up a deep and primary bouquet of ripe cassis fruit and creamy new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, with a vibrant core of concentrated fruit, powdery tannins and a long, resonant finish. This is a pure, beautifully balanced Mouton that simply hasn't evolved very much, even as it closes in on its third decade. While I can attest that it can be drunk with great enjoyment today, real complexity has yet to emerge.