Quality 925 | Brand 999 | Economics 977 | buzz brand
Quality: Predicted life of 17 years, one of the longest drinking windows in its peer group for the 2003 vintage, which averages 8 years Brand: #1 Most sought after wine globally, with 93,283 searches on Wine-Searcher per month Economics: #1 most active wine at auction, its top 5 vintages having seen 5,632 75cl equivalent bottles traded in the past year Production: Higher production than its peer group average of 151,058 bottles

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017

A heady, exotic wine, the 2003 Mouton Rothschild takes hold of all the senses. The ripeness and exuberance of the year comes through in spades as this dramatic, opulent wine shows off its radiant personality. The 2003 can be enjoyed now, but it could also use another few years for the tannins to soften. Still, the 2003 is pretty hard to resist today. This is an exceptional, deeply satisfying Mouton endowed with notable richness but also exceptional balance. Hints of toffee, torrefaction and dark spices are laced into the finish. In 2003 the blend is 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, all brought in between a fairly narrow window of ten days between September 15 and 25.

Shows the heat of the vintage, as well as the slightly extracted feel of Dhalluin's predecessor, with a hint of jamminess to the mix of raspberry, plum and fig fruit, along with melted licorice, charred cedar and singed vanilla bean accents and a very light echo of caramel through the finish. Even with all that, there's a flash of minty freshness lurking throughout. There's lots here, but it's a bit atypical.--Non-blind Mouton-Rothschild vertical (March 2017). JM

Tasted at Bordeaux Index’s “10-Year On” tasting in London. Comparing the Lafite-Rothschild and Latour with the Mouton-Rothschild, it is clear that it is lagging behind in terms of complexity and nuance, the growing season impinging upon the aromatics and dampening the fruit expression. The palate is medium-bodied with a supple, graphite tinged entry. It is nicely balanced but seems a little smudged towards the cedar-infused finish. This is a decent Mouton, though I prefer Latour and Lafite-Rothschild in this year. Tasted March 2013.

Good medium ruby. This is downright exotic on the nose: mocha, coffee, graphite and coconut, lifted by sandalwood and cinnamon spice. Then dense, supple and fine-grained without coming across as heavy. Suggestion of aromatic tree bark. A seamless wine that spreads out horizontally on the back end and finishes with very fine tannins. A bit less extreme than the average 2003, but the 2005 Mouton has more class. I suspect this is on the verge of shutting down in bottle.

The 2003 harvest began on September 15 and finished ten days later. The result is an outstanding 2003 Mouton-Rothschild, but it is not one of the superstars of Pauillac or the Northern Médoc. Its nearby neighbors, Lafite-Rothschild, Cos d’Estournel and Montrose, all produced wines that qualitatively dominate this effort from Mouton-Rothschild. Nevertheless, there is a lot to like. The tannins, which were so tough initially, have softened somewhat, and the nose offers up notes of cedarwood, roasted coffee, tobacco leaf and red and blackcurrants. This spicy, earthy, fleshy, medium to full-bodied 2003 is not one of the stars of the vintage. It is close to full maturity, where it should remain for another 10-15 years.

By no means the strongest of the first-growths in 2003, in fact, the 2003 Mouton is probably the weakest. The selection process that was implemented by new administrator Philippe Dhalluin a few years later had not yet gone into effect. The harvest took place between September 15-25, and the wine shows lots of opulent cassis, a hint of roasted coffee, and an evolved, fully mature style with light tannin in the finish. I wouldn’t push my luck, although it is certainly capable of lasting another decade. There may be a tendency for the tannins to give the wine a more desiccated overall impression five or six years from now.
(WA#214, Aug 2014)


Backward, powerful, and extremely tannic, the dense purple-colored 2003 Mouton-Rothschild, a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, fashioned from yields of 28 hectoliters per hectare, with a finished alcohol of 12.9%, improves dramatically with aeration. With full-bodied, meaty, powerful, dry flavors as well as a huge finish, this high class wine should be at its finest between 2012-2040+. During its sojourn in barrel, it reminded me of a hypothetical blend of the 1982 and 1986 Moutons, but since bottling, it appears different, and even more tannic than those two vintages. I still believe the finest recent Mouton-Rothschild is the 2000.
95+ pts (WA#164, Apr 2006)

Ripeness without any pruny flavours. Dark-cherry fruit, still-firm tannins and the signature fleetness of foot that Margaux is famous for. Outperforms the expectation of the vintage, and seems to be on a good trajectory for further maturation. (RH)