Chateau Mouton Rothschild - Le Petit Mouton 2018

JAMES SUCKLING: "Real purity of fruit with currants, blackberries and flowers that show on both the nose and palate. It’s full-bodied with layers of ripe tannins that are polished and creamy. Delicious finish. So attractive now. Second wine of Mouton. Ethereal. But give this three or four years to come around."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Is Le Petit Mouton the best second wine from Bordeaux today? After tasting the 2018, it is a distinct possibility. Dark in color, the nose jumps with 5 spice, currants, smoke, blackberries and light oak aromas. Silky, lush and polished with layers of sweet, ripe, fresh, round red fruits that build and linger. Disarmingly easy to taste, this has the ability to age for at least two decades. Blended using 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, reaching 14% alcohol, part of the reason the wine feels so rich that for the first time, the wine was aged in 100% new, French oak barrels, instead of closer to 50%."

JEB DUNNUCK: "A brilliant effort that matches most estates' Grand Vins, the 2018 Le Petit Mouton De Mouton Rothschild (56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc) reveals a deep purple hue as well as a ripe yet fresh bouquet of crème de cassis, candied violets, graphite, lead pencil shavings, and background oak, with a touch of rocky, crushed stone-like minerality showing with time in the glass. Beautifully concentrated and full-bodied, with a solid spine of acidity and ripe polished tannins, give bottles 5-7 years, and it's going to evolve for 20-30 years or more. This is a serious, elegant yet powerful second wine."

WEINWISSER: "56 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 40 % Merlot, 4 % Cabernet Franc. Sattes Rubinrot mit violettem Rand. Betörendes, reifes und sinnlich anmutendes Bouquet mit herrlich reifen und saftigen Blaubeeren, Schokolade, süßer Maduro-Tabak und Fliedernoten. Da ist schon viel Mouton-Musik drin. Am Gaumen zeigt er sich großzügig mit fast rahmiger Fülle und reifem Tanningerüst, aber er hat genügend stützende Frische und Grip. Im charmanten Finale zeigt er genau diese Liaison aus rassigen Elementen und der genialen Verführung mit einem Korb von perfekt reifen Heidelbeeren."

DECANTER: "Exuberant as always but here with pretty serious tannins, the result of small berries and a low yield of 28hl/ha, so a little more tension than many vintages of Petit Mouton (they also harvested a little earlier). This gives a finesse that is highly appealing with tons of coffee, chocolate and damson character. 26% of overall production - a little less than usual - and 11% press wine. Harvest September 10 to October 3. Drinking Window 2022 - 2040"

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, tiefer Farbkern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Süße dunkle Waldbeeren, Cassis und Brombeeren, ein Hauch von Feigen und dunkler Schokolade, einladendes Bukett, Orangenzesten und Kräuter sind unterlegt. Komplex, saftige Herzkirschen, feine Extraktsüße, reife, runde Tannine, elegant und anhaftend, bereits sehr harmonisch, mineralischer Nachhall, sicheres Entwicklungspotenzial."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: „A blend of 60% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, with a pH of 3.52 and a TPI of 74, the Chapelle d’Ausone 2022 is deep garnet-purple in color. It swans out with showy notions of kirsch, black cherry compote, and black raspberries, followed by wafts of garrigue, violets, and cedar chest. Full-bodied, the palate is built like a brick house, delivering firm, fine-grained tannins and amazing acidity to support the dense, generous fruit, finishing long and minerally. Impressive!"

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2018 Le Petit Mouton is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. It represents about 26% of the total crop and has 14% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it struts its way out of the glass with showy, flamboyant scents of Morello cherries, blackcurrant pastilles, preserved plums and black raspberries, plus suggestions of potpourri and Chinese five spice. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers fantastic freshness with velvety tannins and loads of spicy sparks emanating from the red and black berry preserves layers, finishing with a minty kick."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Made from young vines, this second wine of Mouton Rothschild was, unusually, aged in 100% new wood. While that does show as a vanilla edge to the wine, the ripe black fruits are moving forward to give richness and density. Drink the wine from 2025."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Intense, ripe but structured fruit on the nose. Full-throated, ripe fruit melded into a framework. Long and classic, ripe Pauillac. Pretty powerful."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Pure and focused, with a lovely caressing edge to its mix of plum sauce and warmed cassis fruit flavors that are augmented by smoldering earth, tobacco and alder notes that tug gently on the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2032."