Château Mouton-Rothschild - Pauillac 2020 (750ml)
Price: $799.99
| Producer | Château Mouton-Rothschild |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Subregion | Pauillac |
| Varietal | Bordeaux Blend |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Sku | 6767 |
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The wine is a deep, dark, garnet-hued cherry red. The refined and complex nose opens on remarkably ripe black fruit aromas, going on with airing to reveal blackcurrant and aniseed notes combined with touches of graphite and a subtle hint of blond tobacco. From a smooth yet full-bodied attack, the palate displays highly precise tannins which sustain an expansion of flavors in harmonious, succulent balance. Nuanced refinements evident in touches of mint and mineral, smoky notes.
Blend: 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot
James Suckling: 100 Points
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.
Wine Advocate: 100 Points
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.
Wine Enthusiast: 99 Points
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.
Vinous: 99 Points
The 2020 Mouton Rothschild is very clearly one 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.
Decanter: 98 Points
The tannins are carefully wrapped up and finessed, slowly but surely building in power and width, with concentrated blue and black fruits through the palate. Cabernet Sauvignon is dominant on the attack, with a deft, savoury and not overly exuberant delivery of flavour. As the slate and saline side builds up, you also feel a slowing down and a tugging back of the tannins. As the wine relaxes in the glass, it becomes more and more signature Mouton, full of exuberance, finesse and pleasure. There is less sweet black cherry fruit than in a year like 2018 or 2019, more on the cassis and bilberry side, it will behave in a more classical manner in the decades to come. 100% new oak. Harvest September 7 to 24. 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend.
Jeb Dunnuck: 97 Points
The 2020 Chateau 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.
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