2020 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild Pauillac 1st Classified Growth

"The 2020 Mouton Rothschild is very clearly one of the great, great wines of the Left Bank in 2020. All the elements are in perfect balance. A wine of total sensuality and nuance, Mouton is all finesse in 2020, all elegance" ~Vinous Media

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.

2020 is looking to be a great year for the Left Bank. Vinous Media blessed this vintage with a 97 point review, and said: "Two thousand-twenty is an exceptional vintage for Bordeaux, certainly the best in the 2018-2020 trilogy. The quality is very, very high."

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.

The purity of blackcurrants, blueberries, creme de cassis, and flowers. Hints of subtle spearmint. Iron. Blood orange. Medium-bodied with a compacted palate, like a cylinder of perfectly ripe fruit and fine tannins. A million layers of tight-grained tannins. It goes on and on. Such freshness and weightlessness to it. Ethereal. New classicism. Modern take on the 1986. 12.79% alcohol. 84% cabernet sauvignon, 13% merlot, 2% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. Drink after 2030 but hard to not drink now. ~100 James Suckling

The 2020 Mouton Rothschild is a striking wine and one that I regretted not purchasing en primeur as soon as it landed in my glass. Offering up complex aromas of minty cassis, pencil shavings, loamy soil, cigar wrapper, espresso roast and violets, it's medium to full-bodied, broad and layered, with terrific concentrated, beautifully refined tannins and a long, penetrating finish. Checking in at 12.8% alcohol, its incipient complexity, ineffable sense of completeness and exquisite balance mark it out as the purists' choice among the trio of 2018, 2019 and 2020. In this vintage, the lots that made it into the blend were largely confined to the core gravel terroirs that represent Mouton's heart, meaning that there's a little less to go around. This was the first vintage overseen by Mouton's new technical director, Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy, and he has begun with a flying start. ~100 Wine Advocate

Intense, concentrated, powerful, deeply spiced, fleshy but restrained, this inches open and feels vibrant, pure, chiselled, seamless, with an electric charge. Expect plenty of smoked and grilled cassis, bilberry and damson fruits, sandalwood and mint leaf. Has the 2020 signature where flavours are classically serious and balanced but intense, just a monumental Mouton with the freshness and architecture of 2016, edged with floral aromatics, wonderfully enticing and with presence. 100% new oak. First vintage for Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy as director, following Philippe Dhalluin's retirement. One of the wines of the vintage. ~99 Jane Anson

The 2020 Mouton Rothschild is very clearly one of the great, great wines of the Left Bank in 2020. All the elements are in perfect balance. A wine of total sensuality and nuance, Mouton is all finesse in 2020, all elegance. An explosion of dark cherry fruit, plum, pomegranate, mint and cinnamon are all amplified. From barrel, the 2020 Mouton hinted at greatness. Today, that greatness is evident. The rich, vibrant finish is a thing of beauty. ~99 Vinous Media

This is a massive, impressive wine. Dense tannins and succulent black fruits are the outward manifestation of the hidden power of this concentrated wine. The fruit is opulent, full of possibility. Drink this wine from 2028. ~99 Wine Enthusiast

The 2020 Château Mouton Rothschild is in the running for the biggest, baddest, and most concentrated wine in the vintage. Based on 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petite Verdot brought up in new barrels, this inky hued beast of wine offers up classic Mouton ripe black fruits, scorched earth, tobacco leaf, and freshly sharpened pencil-like aromatics. These carry to a full-bodied, concentrated, tannic, backward 2020 with terrific purity, building, mouth-coating tannins, terrific balance, and one gorgeous finish. Unfortunately, as with many of the top 2020s, this isn't for those looking for instant gratification, and a decade (or more) of cellaring is advised. This hit 13.1% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.78. It will be a 50-, 60-, 70+-year wine. ~97 Jeb Dunnuck

Composed of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Mouton Rothschild is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs considerable coaxing to unlock notes of crushed blackcurrants, fresh blackberries, spiced plums, and raspberry coulis, leading to wafts of clove oil, sandalwood, and mossy tree bark. The medium-bodied palate has compelling poise, with silken tannins and seamless freshness to frame the delicate red and black fruit layers, finishing long and minerally. This is a wonderfully graceful expression of Mouton. ~96 The Wine Independant

Smells wonderful, perfumed, herbal, milk chocolate, ripe blackberries, cherries and blackcurrants, quite soft and a tad shy but you get a sense of fullness on the nose. Supple, beautifully balanced and textured, round but direct, it’s not overt or too big but just settles in the right places. Really elegant and classy, just so easy to enjoy moving from start to finish with persistence and confidence. It's not trying too hard and nothing feels pushed with an overall gorgeous tetue, weight, balance, and push still with excellent acidity, ripe fruits and an element of minerality that cleans the tongue. Sharp, serious and long. A great wine that's a joy to taste. ~94 Decanter

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