About the Wine

"The crème de la crème from the northern Médoc is the 2015 Mouton Rothschild and this incredible wine flirts with perfection. It is full-bodied, dense, and incredibly concentrated, yet still has the sexy, opulent, seductive style of the vintage front and center. It will be a candidate for perfection in 10-12 years and is going to be one of the longest-lived wines in the vintage." ~Jeb Dunnuck

Château Mouton Rothschild was not originally included in the First Growths of Bordeaux, the estate has spent a large portion of its history-making up for that fact. Mouton was the first producer to really take ownership of the entire wine-making process in Bordeaux. The château took wine from grapes to bottles starting only in 1924. Prior to this estate bottling, the châteaux were selling wine to negociants in barrels, leaving lots of room for inconsistency. Mouton also provides some of the prettiest bottles in Bordeaux to look at, with a new artist commissioned for each vintage to design the label art.

Château Mouton Rothschild spans 90 hectares (222 acres) of vines to the northwest of Bordeaux, on the edge of the Médoc peninsula. The Château Mouton Rothschild vineyard, mostly situated on a hillock called the “Plateau de Mouton” which rises to 27m above sea level, is planted on very deep gravelly soil with the varieties typical of the region.

Tasting Notes: 82% Cabernet Sauvignon 16% Merlot 2% Cabernet Franc. The wine has an attractive, deep and dark colour with a purple tint. The refined and elegant nose reveals fruity wild blackberry and bilberry aromas. Notes of toast, liquorice and blond tobacco then emerge to fill out a rich and complex range of aromas. The fresh, full-bodied and slightly saline attack shows great intensity, opening on smooth and creamy tannins which enfold a silky texture lifted by a touch of minerality.

Reviews

The crème de la crème from the northern Médoc is the 2015 Mouton Rothschild and this incredible wine flirts with perfection. Made from 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot, this inky purple-colored effort offers sensational Cabernet flare in its crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil shavings, floral, and Asian spice aromas and flavors. It is full-bodied, dense, and incredibly concentrated, yet still has the sexy, opulent, seductive style of the vintage front and center. It will be a candidate for perfection in 10-12 years and is going to be one of the longest-lived wines in the vintage. Hats off to Philippe Dhalluim and his team for this incredible effort that’s a step up over just about every other northern Médoc out there! ~99 Jeb Dunnuck

Decadent and rich aromas of black cherries and plums with wet earth and sandalwood. Turns to dried mushrooms. Full-bodied, tight, and closed with big, polished tannins, yet this is very closed and shy right now. Despite this, underneath it shows such depth and beauty. Tangy acidity. This is a combination of 2005 and 2009. Try it in 2024. ~99 James Suckling

The 2015 Mouton-Rothschild is a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc matured entirely in new oak, as usual. This represents a relatively high percentage of Merlot simply because, as winemaker Philippe Dhalluin told me, that quality was so good. I afforded my sample four to five minutes to open as it was a little reduced at first, but eventually, it reveals a gorgeous, extraordinarily intense bouquet of blackberry, cassis, incense, and cold slate aromas. In some ways, it reminds me of Latour as much as Mouton Rothschild. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannin, perfectly pitched acidity, wonderful tension, and impressive length. There is a strong graphite theme running through from start to finish that is a little grainy and so it will require preferably a decade in the cellar. But what freshness and panache here, a classic Mouton-Rothschild that will live for 50 or 60 years, not a million miles away from say, the 1986 or 2010. Expect this to settle at the top of my banded score once in bottle. ~98 Wine Advocate

Gorgeously confident and rich in color, you can see the silkiness in the glass from the first look. This has 11% press wine, which tells you how good the skins were and how gently they extract at first. Winemaker Philippe Dhalluin and the team have really succeeded in this vintage. It is beautifully integrated, and full of verve and sexiness, just stopping short of swagger. It approaches the heights of 2015 in the most successful appellations and will age well. Bottled in June, with zero oxygen added at bottling and just 25 ppm of SO2. ~98 Decanter. 

This is a hugely opulent wine, packed with black fruits, rich tannins, and great concentration. It is a gorgeous wine that's full of potential, with the dense, dark core showing how well this wine will age. Drink this complex wine from 2027. ~98 Wine Enthusiast

In 2015, Mouton Rothschild is fabulous. A big, towering wine, 2015 makes its presence felt with layers of super-ripe dense fruit and striking textural resonance that carries all the way through to the finish. 2015 is much more reticent from bottle than it was from barrel, which is not at all surprising, but is something readers should take into account. Even with all of its obvious intensity, the 2015 Mouton is a wine of classically inspired proportions. I can't wait to taste it in another 15-20 years. 2015 is 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc that spend 19 months in 100% new French oak. ~97 Vinous

Offers a prodigious core of steeped fig, black currant, and blackberry compote flavors, enmeshed with notes of smoldering tobacco, charcoal, and licorice. Broad, deep and long, with a deep foundation of graphite through the finish. Despite the heft, this manages to show off some purity too. Best from 2025 through 2045. ~96 Wine Spectator