| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Incredible iodine, oyster, currants, peat and cedar. Yet subtle. Full body, chewy yet polished tannins and great depth and complexity on the finish. I love the spice and blueberry character on the finish. Vibrant. A sexy style of Mouton. Try drinking this in 2022.
The 2014 Mouton-Rothschild has a really quite fantastic bouquet with intense blackberry, mint, graphite and tobacco aromas that could only come from Pauillac at the top of the pyramid. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, pure blackberry and raspberry fruit laced with cedar and a pinch of black pepper. There is mass and density to this wine that is uncommon in 2014, quite astonishing in length with that tongue tingling with spiciness long after the wine has departed. Contender for wine of the vintage? You bet. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drink 2024-2060.
The 2014 Mouton Rothschild is deep garnet-brick in color. Notes of creme de cassis, cigar box, and forest floor open out to nuances of crushed rocks, new leather, and truffles. The medium-bodied palate delivers muscular black fruits and a firm frame of grainy tannins with seamless freshness, finishing long and layered.
Tasted blind. Rich and sweet and very forward and beguiling. Lots of interest and life. Pure and salty and with real density.
Drink 2023-2050
Of 250 2014 Bordeaux wines tasted blind at the annual Southwold Group tasting, Mouton Rothschild was the overall winner.
Deep ruby hue, with an expressive, exotic nose of cassis, bramble, nutmeg, coffee and wood smoke. The palate is rich and concentrated, with a dense, ripe core of blackcurrant and black cherry fruit driving through ripe but chewy, moathcoating tannins. Layers of violet, graphite, coffee and smoke flesh out the mid palate with impressive power. The finish is long and powerful, with classic Pauillac structure denoting superb ageing potential. Notes of nutmeg, and anise sit in harmony with the lingering fruit. An impressively powerful yet perfectly balanced wine. Very impressive.
This delivers a large core of pure, unadorned cassis, accented by notes of anise, plum cake, mint and bitter plum coulis. The core has serious heft, supported easily by a riveting iron spine that shows superb length through the finish. A prodigious display of power and cut. Best from 2022 through 2040.
The floral mix on the nose has lots of charm with red fruits and black fruits giving complexity. Sweet and rich at the start lots of cassis some firmer black cherry with at the back bramble and red fruit freshness the finish lighter fragrant with length of fruit. 2027-40
A rich, yet backward Mouton, this is denser and more powerful than the other First Growths in 2014, but perhaps doesn’t have quite the same finesse. Cedarwood, aromatic herbs, some mocha and cassis, with plush tannins and a smooth, persistent finish.
The 2014 Mouton-Rothschild was closed at first when I tasted the wine in bottle with winemaker Philippe Dhalluin. But as it transpires, this First Growth is just toying with you. Initially quite understated, it responds to aeration like a young child peeking from around a corner and then running out, waving its hands. It suddenly hits you with gorgeous black cherries, bilberry, cedar and wilted rose petal. The palate is medium-bodied with a silky smooth entry. This is utterly seductive: a wine without a hair out of place. It is not as powerful or as complex as the 2015 Mouton-Rothschild, yet the precision and focus here is beguiling. It will require five to seven years to absorb the 100% new oak, then it will be an utterly delicious and to use a term employed at en primeur, "cerebral" First Growth that is destined to give two or three decades of pleasure. Drink 2022-2060
The Château Mouton-Rothschild 2014 contains more tannin than the 2010 according to winemaker Philippe Dhalluin, although he stressed that this does not imply that they were finer tannin. The blend is 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc and it will of course, be matured in 100% new oak. The alcohol level just tops 13%, the first time since 2010. It has a classic Mouton nose, the slightly higher percentage of Merlot lending a little flamboyance and flair with scents of blackberry, warm gravel and cigar box scents. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, armed with powerful core of quite rich black fruit interlaced with tobacco and allspice. There is very good structure here, a fine edginess towards the white pepper infused finish. There is almost a nuttiness to this wine, to wit, a fascinating maze-like Mouton in the making and perhaps a more cerebral Mouton compared to recent vintages. Tasted twice, almost two weeks apart, with consistent notes. Drink: 2020-2040.
This is incredibly minerally with a maritime character as well as red iodine, algae, currants and great intensity. Some saltiness. Almost like a pearl in an oyster shell. This is a true wine of the soil for Mouton. Full body, racy tannins and lingering. Excellent. Unique. 81% cabernet sauvignon, 16% merlot and 4% cabernet franc.
Deep crimson. Fragrant almost soapy nose. (Fine soap!) Good direct fruit and confidence but very much in a minor key. Almost recalls Latour in its lighter, fresher style. No sweetness. No perceptible alcohol. Easy and relaxed. Only medium weight. Certainly not opulent. Brisk finish. I may be underrating this and look forward to retasting it in Bordeaux in July.
Drink 2024-2038
Since the arrival of Philippe Dallhuin in 2003, Mouton has stepped up a level. Grapes are now selected only from the core original vineyard site and the wine is always a classic example of both Cabernet Sauvignon and Pauillac. 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. Deep ruby colour. Classic Mouton nose - very toasty with roast coffee and exotic spices layered over blackcurrant, lead pencil, graphite, tobacco and cedar. The palate has a silky texture from lots of refined Medocain tannins. Oodles of blackcurrant and black cherry fruit with the freshness of acidity to give precision and balance. Complexity from toasted spices but the purity gives this wine poise, elegance, finesse and length. An excellent Mouton.
