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Goedhuis, February 2018
Blackcurrants and cassis on the nose. This wine shows what separates a first growth from the rest. It is so layered with hints of spice, dark berry fruits and truffles. A generous wine that retains poise and restraint. It has both power and grace. I wanted to keep on tasting this wine and can’t wait to drink it properly when fully mature! Deservedly the top wine of the 2 days.
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Goedhuis, April 2015, Score: 93-95
This blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc focuses on masses of dark berry fruit flavours with hints of liquorice and molasses. A weighty style of Mouton that certainly caught many tasters’ eye during the primeurs. This has lots of power, and whilst not
the most subtle of the vintage, it is mouth coating, long and very concentrated.
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Neal Martin, March 2018, Score: 97
The 2014 Mouton-Rothschild has a really quite fantastic bouquet with intense blackberry, mint, graphite and tobacco aromas that could only come from Pauillac at the top of the pyramid. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, pure blackberry and raspberry fruit laced with cedar and a pinch of black pepper. There is mass and density to this wine that is uncommon in 2014, quite astonishing in length with that tongue tingling with spiciness long after the wine has departed. Contender for wine of the vintage? You bet. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
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Neal Martin, March 2017, Score: 95
The 2014 Mouton-Rothschild was closed at first when I tasted the wine in bottle with winemaker Philippe Dhalluin. But as it transpires, this First Growth is just toying with you. Initially quite understated, it responds to aeration like a young child peeking from around a corner and then running out, waving its hands. It suddenly hits you with gorgeous black cherries, bilberry, cedar and wilted rose petal. The palate is medium-bodied with a silky smooth entry. This is utterly seductive: a wine without a hair out of place. It is not as powerful or as complex as the 2015 Mouton-Rothschild, yet the precision and focus here is beguiling. It will require five to seven years to absorb the 100% new oak, then it will be an utterly delicious and to use a term employed at en primeur, "cerebral" First Growth that is destined to give two or three decades of pleasure.
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Neal Martin, April 2015, Score: 94-96
The Château Mouton-Rothschild 2014 contains more tannin than the 2010 according to winemaker Philippe Dhalluin, although he stressed that this does not imply that they were finer tannin. The blend is 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc and it will of course, be matured in 100% new oak. The alcohol level just tops 13%, the first time since 2010. It has a classic Mouton nose, the slightly higher percentage of Merlot lending a little flamboyance and flair with scents of blackberry, warm gravel and cigar box scents. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, armed with powerful core of quite rich black fruit interlaced with tobacco and allspice. There is very good structure here, a fine edginess towards the white pepper infused finish. There is almost a nuttiness to this wine, to wit, a fascinating maze-like Mouton in the making and perhaps a more cerebral Mouton compared to recent vintages. Tasted twice, almost two weeks apart, with consistent notes.
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Antonio Galloni, April 2015, Score: 93-96
Dark and enveloping to the core, the 2014 Mouton Rothschild opens with beguiling scents of violet, new leather, dark spice and plum. There is plenty of tannin lurking beneath, but the overall impression is of fleshiness and seamlessness, with the 100% new oak also beautifully balanced for such a young wine. Layers of flavor build to the effortless, concentrated finish in a sexy Mouton that is likely to reward consumers with many years of fine drinking. I very much like the sense of balance here.
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James Suckling, March 2015, Score: 96-97
This is incredibly minerally with a maritime character as well as red iodine, algae, currants and great intensity. Some saltiness. Almost like a pearl in an oyster shell. This is a true wine of the soil for Mouton. Full body, racy tannins and lingering. Excellent. Unique. 81% cabernet sauvignon, 16% merlot and 4% cabernet franc.
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Decanter, April 2015, Score: 95+
Explosively floral nose – the usual exotic Mouton fruit underlined by very ripe 16% Merlot. The classic 'iron fist in a velvet glove', with ripe tannins and marvellous structure. Its true qualities will need time to show. Drink: 2022-2045
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Matthew Jukes, May 2015, Score: 18.5+
(81 Cabernet Sauvignon, 16 Merlot, 3 Cabernet Franc) At just over 13% alcohol, this is another slimline, lithe Cabernet-driven wine with extreme focus and not a little tannin. The freshness is amazing on the finish and the acid and tannin partnership is well-suited to the core of black fruit. Overall, Mouton is a middleweight, but long wine with decent tobacco and oak detail on the nose. It will appear to drink fairly young and take a long time to plateau – I think this wine will run on for 40 years. The latent power is impressive as is the delivery - the low, throb of tannin and rumble of acidity keeps the Cabernet engine running very smoothly indeed.
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Jancis Robinson, April 2015, Score: 17.5+
81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. Deep crimson. Fragrant almost soapy nose. (Fine soap!) Good direct fruit and confidence but very much in a minor key. Almost recalls Latour in its lighter, fresher style. No sweetness. No perceptible alcohol. Easy and relaxed. Only medium weight. Certainly not opulent. Brisk finish. I may be underrating this and look forward to retasting it in Bordeaux in July. Drink 2024-2038
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Tim Atkin, May 2015, Score: 95
A rich, yet backward Mouton, this is denser and more powerful than the other First Growths in 2014, but perhaps doesn’t have quite the same finesse. Cedarwood, aromatic herbs, some mocha and cassis, with plush tannins and a smooth, persistent finish. Drink: 2024-35
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Wine Spectator, March 2015, Score: 95-98
This captures the pure, distilled essence of Cabernet Sauvignon, with a racy core of red and black currant fruit that almost struts alone, but there's ample roasted apple wood and iron deeply buried in the background, which should emerge with time. The finish has terrific delineation, with a mouthwatering edge despite clearly abundant tannins. The focus on purity in this wine is what's most impressive over the last several vintages.
