Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2005

Château Mouton Rothschild 1'eme Cru Classé Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, 2005

Grapes: A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc, 84ha vineyard on deep gravel soil with vines averaging 44 years of age, hand harvested, 18 months' ageing in new French oak barrels

Producer Tasting Note:

The wine has an attractive colour, dark, deep and still very young, and an elegant, complex nose that combines refined notes of oak, toast and vanilla with intense, wild berry fruit. Touches of mint and spice complete the array, bringing freshness and originality. The palate is both powerful and substantial, revealing attractively close-knit, juicy and succulent tannins combined with concentrated blackcurrant and blackberry flavours that reinforce the impression of fullness of flavour. The finish is very long, carried by a touch of sweetness and the perfect expression of rich, ripe Cabernet Sauvignon typical of great Pauillac vintages.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"The 2005 Château Mouton-Rothschild is a deeply impressive First Growth. It has been blessed with a sensational nose that comes racing out of the blocks with audacious scents of black fruit, cedar, smoke and pencil box (Philippe Dhalluin mentioned that the signature smokiness/fireside hearth was tangible in around 80% of the vats during élevage). There is a sense of bravura here, of aristocracy. The palate is medium-bodied with sumptuous black fruit, perhaps beginning to soften in texture, one or two years off its plateau. There are layers and layers of black fruit intermingling with graphite and black pepper, and it wisely reins everything in on the finish that is more classic in style and in keeping with the vintage. If you are fortunate enough to have this wine in your cellar, even though those tannins are starting to be abraded by time, afford it another five or six years. Tasted August 2016."

98/100 points, Neal Martin, WINE ADVOCATE, January 2017 (Drink 2019-2055)

"This is so young. Yet, if you look inside with just a bit of effort, the wine is fabulous with unlimited potential. Concentrated, full, rich and with serious depth of flavor, the wine balances its naturally opulent nature with the structure to age, a wall of ripe tannin and endless waves of juicy, ripe, fresh, pure cassis. Patience is warranted. So give it 15 years and enjoy it over the next 50!"

98/100 points, Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider, November 2019

These bottles are from our Directors' Cellar and have been stored with us since purchase at release.