2020 Mouton Rothschild
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Tasting Notes
The nose of Mouton Rothschild’s 2020 is haunting. It’s slow to emerge at first, a little shy, but before you know it there’s an abundance of spice and florals with this wonderful lift that makes it enchanting. It’s the sheer concentration of fruit beneath, however, that really impresses, with its plush coating of new oak. Ripe, rich and expressive, the palate is disarmingly generous – deceptive in its approachability and openness, with wonderfully fine, ripe, seamless tannins. There is layer upon layer of concentrated fruit – sweet red cherry, bramble and forest fruit, with a summer pudding richness complemented by a beautiful sweet spice note. But don’t be fooled, this has everything to go the long haul. Fresh, structured, complex with wonderful tension – this is an outstanding wine.
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James Suckling
James Lawther MW, jancisrobinson.com
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The tannins are carefully wrapped up and finessed, slowly but surely building in power and width, with concentrated blue and black fruits through the palate. Cabernet Sauvignon is dominant on the attack, with a deft, savoury and not overly exuberant delivery of flavour. As the slate and saline side builds up, you also feel a slowing down and a tugging back of the tannins. As the wine relaxes in the glass, it becomes more and more signature Mouton, full of exuberance, finesse and pleasure. There is less sweet black cherry fruit than in a year like 2018 or 2019, more on the cassis and bilberry side, it will behave in a more classical manner in the decades to come. 100% new oak. Harvest September 7 to 24. 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. Could go to 100 points after ageing.
Dense purple-hued and a monster of a wine, the 2020 Château Mouton Rothschild checks in as 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, all of which hit 13.1% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.78. Classic Mouton notes of cassis and currant fruits give way to a more mineral-driven red offering loads of scorched earth, graphite, liquid violets, and crushed stone aromas and flavors. Gorgeously concentrated, full-bodied, and structured, with a firm tannic, inward style that relents with time in the glass, this is a serious Mouton that's going to need a decade of cellaring yet should be just about immortal.
The 2020 Mouton Rothschild is composed of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, with an alcohol of 13.1% and a pH of around 3.78. Deep purple-black colored, it starts off with subtle notions of fresh raspberries and blackberries, needing considerable swirling and patience to unlock its intense core of blackcurrant pastilles, rose oil, licorice and cardamom, plus touches of cedar chest, black truffles and crushed rocks. The medium-bodied palate is like a tightly coiled spring, possessing exhilarating tension and very firm, ripe, multi-grained tannins to frame the layer upon layer of black and red fruits intertwined with earthy and mineral accents, finishing very long and very fragrant. It is certainly the most coy, reticent and elegant grand vin of this trio of vintages (2018, 2019 and 2020), bearing Mouton's signature perfume, opulence and stylishness with great grace and sophistication as opposed to devil-may-care flamboyance. It's this gently teasing, achingly beautiful restraint that collectors are not going to want to miss.
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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.