Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2016

Einer der größten Weine aller Zeiten

Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2016

Premiere Grand Cru Classé

Pauillac, Bordeaux, Frankreich

Wine Advocate (Parker): 100/100

Suckling: 100/100

Quarin: 100/100

Galloni: 100/100

Jeb Dunnuck: 100/100

Neal Martin: 100/100

Gerstl: 20/20

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.

Mouton’s congenial managing director, Philippe Dhalluin, was unfortunately in Napa while I was in Bordeaux in October, so I was hosted by Eric Tourbier—Mouton’s technical director—and Clerc-Milon’s winemaker, Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy. While discussing the particularly abundant range of aroma/flavor compounds I was perceiving in the 2016 reds, Danjoy commented, “When you have a wet spring, you tend to have more aromatic precursors. Also, it was a long maturation period. The vine made a lot of aromatic components. The gap between the Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon for ripening was very long. In fact, Cabernet was very late this year. We didn’t know if the Cabernet Sauvignon was going to make it! The big surprise for us was the Cabernet Franc—all of it was delicious. We used it all in the grand vin at Clerc Milon.” When we came to taste Le Petit Mouton and Mouton Rothschild, Eric Tourbier, smiling like the cat that got the cream, said simply, “It was a dry summer. We had very small berries and a good level of ripeness.” He then added, matter-of-factly, “I’ve been at Mouton for 30 years. I think this is my best vintage. The 2016 may be compared to the 1986?” Maybe, but while I’m a huge lover of the incredibly provocative and sometimes formidable 1986 (I had it again just a few weeks ago), I’m thinking this 2016 is going to give a lot more hedonic pleasure in its first 25 years in bottle than the 1986—just coming around now—certainly did.