Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2001

Château Mouton Rothschild 1eme Cru Classe Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, 2001 

Grapes: A blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, 84ha vineyard on deep gravel soil, average 44 year old vines, Yield 28hl/ha, hand harvested, aged 18 months in new French oak barrels

Producer Tasting Note:

The wine has an evolved, garnet red colour with brilliant highlights. The nose displays complex fruit, rich in ripe berry fruit aromas like bilberry and blackcurrant, with some pleasant notes of smoke and leather and a slightly animal cast. From a well-structured attack supported by well-rounded tannins, satisfyingly dense flavours emerge on the palate, full of fruit. The finish, long and elegant with plenty of substance, reveals excellent potential.

2001 Mouton is already showing secondary notes. Smoke, truffle, cassis, burnt leaves and blackberries make up the perfume. The hint of greenness in the finish is not helped by the sensation of cranberry which ends with a fresh cassis note. Still young, it may flesh out in the future. (2010)

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"Mid depth of crimson with a very healthy glow. Lots of class on the nose with perfectly assimilated oak. Denser than the 2000 if anything. Still quite marked acidity, Like a nervy thoroughbred, still quite callow but very fresh and refreshing on the finish. Will never be a blockbuster but should continue to grow in bottle. Convincing."

17.5/20 points, Jancis Robinson, JancisRobinson.com, October 2005

"Tasted blind at Bordeaux Index’s 10-Year On horizontal. This has another outstanding bouquet with notes of blackberry, wild hedgerow, graphite and a touch of orange peel. Great delineation and vigour, a little more generous than Lafite that overtakes after an hour in bottle. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, superb acidity, great depth but perhaps just missing the persistency and vigour of the Lafite. Great mineralite on the tobacco and autumn leaf-finish. Tasted March 2011"

94/100 points, Neal Martin, WINE ADVOCATE, May 2011