Highest Cabernet Sauvignon on record (since 94% for the 2010 vintage), stately and reserved at first, then totally joyful. The right austerity, coupled with squid ink character and fabulous hidden depths that are going to take their time to fully unroll, with the incense of the oak coming through only after a good 10 minutes in the glass, you barely perceive it on the first tasting. What a beautiful Mouton, great stuff from wine director Jean-Philippe Danjoy. 52% Grand Vin, basically pure old vine Cabernet. And an interesting side note - in September there was no weekend picking, a clear indication that there was no stress about the harvest dates. 3.76pH. Harvest September 5 to 20. 100% new oak. - Jane Anson

Deep dark ruby garnet, opaque core, violet reflections, delicate edge brightening. Fine precious wood spice, nuances of cassis and liquorice, delicate hints of nougat and orange zest, seductive bouquet. Complex, tightly meshed, fresh dark berry fruit, fine, silky, tannins, delicate blueberries, lively structure, mineral-salty finish, elegant and precise, shows length and assured ageing potential. (98% Cabernet Sauvignon) - Peter Moser

A glamorous wine for the vintage, with mesmerizing perfumes of flowers, al dente fruit and citrus flowers. Black currants with some mineral and stone undertones. Medium- to full-bodied with ultra-fine tannins and an endless finish. The tannins lead you on a great trip. It is the most cabernet sauvignon ever used in the blend in recent memory. Balanced and structured. 98% cabernet sauvignon and 2% merlot. - 99 to 100 Points - James Suckling

With 98.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, the proportion of this grape variety breaks all records. A first for Mouton. “The 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is brilliant,” explains Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy, “but the 1.8% Merlot allowed us to better channel its ambitions and provide complementary support, contributing to its complexity, both in terms of freshness and power.” With aeration, the aging in 100% new oak becomes apparent, but not in an overbearing way. It simply underscores its primary function: to enhance the overall aromas and act as a support. The definition is precise, accurate, subtle, and true to Mouton, but perhaps with a slightly more contemporary, more blended, more integrated touch. Slightly sweet on the attack, the wine gradually reveals itself. It doesn't seek to showcase its inherent power, but rather to carry it from attack to finish, thanks to a subtle acidity that plays a supporting role. The remarkably fine tannins emphasize its smooth and subtle character, with a quiet yet invigorating strength as its leitmotif. A Mouton ready to dance, like the 1999 label which embodies bursts of enthusiasm, but with more vigor and density. It is more Mouton than ever, and yet it is emancipated, conquering, enterprising, and ready to traverse the coming decades, conveying messages dedicated (more...)

(Pauillac; 98.2% Cabernet Sauvignon; 1.8% Merlot; a final yield of 30 hl/ha, the highest of the first growths; pH 3.76; 13.1% alcohol; tasted at Mouton-Rothschild with Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy). The 98.2% Cabernet Sauvignon is, of course, an historic record here and the 0.2% less Merlot had a significant bearing on the identity of the final wine, Jean-Emmanuel tells me. We have, perhaps unremarkably, Cabernet cedar and Cabernet graphite in abundance! This is truly fabulous and utterly divine. It's also strikingly intimate, though not really more closed aromatically, but certainly far less solaire than Le Petit Mouton. It's more serious, more cool at the core (indeed, that sense of coolness seems to radiate outwards from the core), more classical and more mirrorpool in its clarity, with that slightly sombre and almost haunting character of the vintage. The entry ('attack' would be too strong a word) is incredibly beautiful and so gentle. Mouton builds ever so slowly in the mouth due to the softness of the extraction. This is wine of incredible clarity. It imparts the sensation of layered purity - fine sheets of silk interspersed with layers of cashmere, the tannins delineating each horizontally and pixilating each vertically. A supreme wine, opulent but never demonstrative, incredibly(more...)