| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Bordeaux (White) |
| Colour | White |
| Type | Still |
This is the dry white wine of Mouton Rothschild that has been produced in small quantities since the first vintage in 1991. The vineyard (which is planted with 55% Sauvignon Blanc, 43% Sémillon and 2% Muscadelle) is inland from the château at the edge of the Pauillac appellation but the wine is labelled AC Bordeaux.
The 2020 Aile d'Argent Blanc is more tropical-driven on the nose, with touches of passion fruit, grapefruit and lemon sherbet. There’s fine delineation, and it is unashamedly seductive. The palate is fresh and tangy on the entry with a twist of sour lemon, showing fine depth and a waxy-textured, pithy finish that is very satisfying. Quite delicious. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 2025 - 2037
This is full-bodied with layers of fruit. Ripe and flavorful. Lots going on with a fleshy feel. No malolactic this year. Sweet peach, honeysuckle and citrus. Contrastive. 52% sauvignon blanc, 14% sauvignon gris and 34% semillon.
Composed of 52% Sauvignon Blanc, 14% Sauvignon Gris and 34% Sémillon, the 2020 Aile d'Argent has no Muscadelle this year, no skin contact and no malolactic. It sails out of the glass with fabulously flamboyant notes of fresh pineapple, nectarines and jasmine, plus suggestions of key lime pie, passion fruit and orange zest. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers opulent tropical and citrus fruit layers, supported by plenty of freshness and a decadent touch of oiliness to the texture, finishing long and impactful. So hard to resist even at this nascent stage, I can't wait to see how this is going to age! 2023 - 2035
The first year made entirely under the direction of Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy. I was expecting this to be the wine in the Mouton stable with the most evident transition from Philippe Dhalluin, and certainly you see a little less exuberance, a little more sculpting rather than width, with sea breeze and citrus aromatics. Plenty of bright pineapple and apricot flavours, with nuance and balance, and the salty cracker finish that you always want from this wine. Will be bottled in June 2021. Harvest began on August 24 (same as 2011, joint earliest on record) through to 28. No more malolactic during winemaking as you saw (usually just 5-10%) under Dhalluin, and no skin contact, but the rich mouthfeel is instead found through a higher proportion of Sauvignon Gris, and no longer co-fermented with the Sauvignon Blanc.
Drinking Window 2022 - 2030
(66% SB, 34% SM; 13% ABV; 45% new)
Pale lemon; briskly ripe Sauvignon to smell, persistent and subtly mineral; rich, full, fresh, concentrated; dry but juicily ripe, racy and mouthcoating, its fullness very nicely contained and lengthened by its lively acidity; pure, mineral, complete, with a most rewarding complexity underlying the fruit and plushness. Wonderful Aile! Bottled under Diam since 2017. 2025–40+.
The 2020 Aile d’Argent was picked early, from August 24, to keep the acidity, with no skin contact and no malolactics in the final blend. The winemaking team used all the Sauvignon Gris to obtain richness, and the wine will be bottled in early June. It has an alluring, perfumed bouquet of honeysuckle, orange pith and lime scents, very well defined and the oak skillfully integrated. The palate is smooth in texture, displaying just the right amount of bitterness to lend edge on the entry, and quite tangy compared to recent vintages, featuring lime, melon and gooseberry notes, touches of lemongrass coming through toward the finish. Delicious. 2023 - 2030.
