Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac (Premier Grand Cru Classé) 2016 (750ml)

The property in the 18th century, along with Lafite and Latour, of the “prince of vines”, the Marquis Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur, then the Barons de Brane, Château Mouton Rothschild took its present name after it was acquired by Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, from the English branch of the famous dynasty, in 1853. For many years, despite the increasingly acknowledged quality of its wine, Mouton aroused little interest among its owners, unwilling to make the journey to a then-neglected region. So it was a red-letter day when, in 1922, Baron Nathaniel’s great grandson Baron Philippe de Rothschild, barely 20 years old, took in hand the destiny of an estate to which he would devote his entire life.

Bearing the stamp of his constant personal commitment, spirit of independence and visionary genius, the long reign (1922-1988) of Baron Philippe de Rothschild, poet and man of action, was marked by a series of key decisions, some of which would revolutionise the world of wine.

In 1924, Baron Philippe decided that all the wine should be bottled at the château, asserting the role and responsibility of the owners of top growths in the face of the all-powerful Bordeaux wine trade. Hitherto, the wine had been delivered to the merchants in barrels.

This decision, soon taken up by others, meant that storage space at the château had to be increased. The spectacular Grand Chai (Great Barrel Hall) at Mouton, designed by the architect Charles Siclis, was built in 1926. In the same Médoc spirit, in 1933 Baron Philippe acquired a small wine-trading business in Pauillac, destined for a flourishing future under the name by which it is now known, Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA. Among other wines, the company would produce and market Mouton Cadet, created in 1930 and now the world’s leading Bordeaux AOC brand.

Later, the family extended its holdings around Mouton with the acquisition of two classified growths in the revered Pauillac vineyard: Château Mouton d’Armailhacq in 1933, renamed Château d’Armailhac in 1989, and Château Clerc Milon in 1970.

Baron Philippe also made a point of forging strong links between Mouton and the arts. The 100-metre-long Grand Chai already constituted a remarkable feat of architectural prowess. Then, each year from 1945, the label for the vintage was illustrated with the reproduction of an original artwork specially created for Mouton by a contemporary artist. In 1962, the château itself was transformed into one of the Bordeaux region’s leading tourist attractions with the inauguration of the Museum of Wine in Art. Designed by Baron Philippe and his second wife, Baroness Pauline, the museum, located beside the Grand Chai, contains a collection of precious objects from all ages associated with the vine and wine. The Club, an attractive little building used for tastings and as a visitor centre, was added in the 1970s.

For twenty years, Baron Philippe fought to enhance the image of Mouton Rothschild and secure its elevation to First Growth status. He finally triumphed in 1973, when Mouton officially joined an elite to which it had belonged de facto for many years, following a decree signed by Jacques Chirac, then Minister of Agriculture.

Baron Philippe was also keen to take the know-how of the great Bordeaux châteaux to other parts of the world. In the evening of his life he entered into partnership with the American Robert Mondavi, a famous winegrower in California’s Napa Valley, which culminated in 1979 in the creation of Opus One, the first Franco-Californian ultra-premium wine, planted, made, matured and blended in the traditional Bordeaux manner.

The wine is a dark and intense cherry red. The highly refined nose reveals perfectly ripe fruit. Ripe bilberry and blackcurrant aromas combine harmoniously with floral notes. With airing, the nose unfolds on pepper and spice balanced by elegant notes of graphite and blonde tobacco, bringing charm and nobility to an extensive range of aromas. The full and dense attack exhibits exceptionally well-rounded and silky tannins. The ample mid-palate abounds in black fruit along with cocoa flavours and biscuity notes, leading into a full-bodied and remarkably persistent finish, the sign of a great vintage.

Blend: 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot

Critical Acclaim

JS100
James Suckling
Dark ruby, purple color. Aromas of blackcurrants, black truffle, crushed stone, licorice and hints of tar. Full-bodied, deep and vertical on the palate, drawing you in and down. The structure is very tannic and powerful, yet the tannins are folded into the wine. One of the most powerful Moutons ever for me. Try after 2027.
V100
Vinous
A towering, thrilling wine, the 2016 Mouton Rothschild is unbelievably beautiful today. Aromatics, fruit density and vertical structure all come together. In the glass, the 2016 is remarkably vivid and powerful, and yet a gentler, more feminine side emerges with time in the glass. The intense, mineral, savory profile recalls the 1986, but the 2016 has more grace, inner sweetness and sophistication than that wine. Even so, the 2016 is going to need at least a number of years in bottle before it starts drinking well, although it won't be the bruiser the 1986 remains to this day. This is breathtaking wine from Mouton, Tecnical Director Philippe Dhalluin and his team.
RP100
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Composed of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2016 Mouton Rothschild has an opaque garnet-purple color. WOW—the nose explodes from the glass with powerful blackcurrant cordial, black raspberries, blueberry pie and melted chocolate notions, plus suggestions of aniseed, camphor, lifted kirsch and the faintest waft of a subtle floral perfume in the background. Full-bodied, concentrated, bold and totally seductive in the mouth, it has very fine-grained, silt-like tannins, while jam-packed with tightly wound fruit layers, finishing in this wonderful array of mineral sparks. Magic.

JD100
Jeb Dunnuck
Along with the Château Lafite, the 2016 Château Mouton Rothschild is the wine of the vintage from the Médoc and is a truly profound, magical, blockbuster wine in every sense. It’s based on 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, raised in new French oak. Boasting a saturated purple color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of thick black fruits, lead pencil shavings, new saddle leather, and burning embers, with just a hint of its oak upbringing, this beauty hits the palate with a mammoth amount of fruit and texture yet stays fresh, pure, and light on its feet, with a thrilling sense of minerality as well as building tannins on the finish. It’s one of the most profound young wines I’ve ever tasted, and while it will probably keep for three-quarters of a decade, it offers pleasure even today. Bravo!
D99
Decanter
A higher level of acidity than is usual for Mouton is buttressed by waves of fruit and tannin. It's a modern take on 1986 that shows the most wonderful precision of creme caramel, liquorice, blackcurrant, creme de cassis and cedar. it's opulent but also has great tension through the palate - a monumental Mouton that for me has gained in stature over the past two years of ageing. The idea of a drinking window almost feels like a mirage - the perfect moment is likely to recede into the distance time and time again. It could be drunk in the next decade perhaps, but it's going to take 20 years or more to really get into its stride. Easily one of the wines of the vintage, for me this is showing even better than during en primeur. 1% Cabernet Franc completes the blend.
WE98
Wine Enthusiast
The rich fruit in this wine nearly envelops the tannins. Flavors of black plums, blackberries and blueberries meld with intense acidity to mask the power and concentration of the polished tannins. With this structure, will age for many, many years. Do not drink before 2026.
Cellar Selection
WS98
Wine Spectator
A generous, pure and lush ball of Cabernet, with wave after wave of unadulterated cassis and blackberry puree flavors rolling through. Features notes of roasted apple wood and sweet tobacco, offset by a long tug of sweet earth, but that’s all background music to the impressive core of fruit, which steams along like a cruise ship with enough stores in reserve to go around the world twice without stopping. Best from 2025 through 2045.