2009 Château Mouton-Rothschild

The 2009 Mouton-Rothschild has a more refined bouquet compared to the 2009 Latour, with scents of blackberry, graphite, undergrowth and hints of pressed rose petals. The palate is medium-bodied with a rounded entry. The intense black fruit is laced with pencil shaving and white pepper notes (indeed, the tip of the tongue tingles after the wine has exited.) This is a multi-dimensional First Growth with a very persistent finish. Mouton-Rothschild? Bingo. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.

- Neal Martin (02/2019)

With a ton of ripe blackcurrant and some bitter chocolate this is a rich and rather opulent wine that still retains a delightful freshness and has a long, positively dry finish. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019) (02/2017)

Pure perfection, and reminding me slightly of the 1982, the 2009 Château Mouton Rothschild boasts an opaque ruby hue as well as an incredibly perfumed, sexy, seductive style in its ripe currant and cassis fruits as well as new saddle leather, spicy oak, smoke tobacco, and graphite-driven aromas and flavors. Complex, full-bodied, and beautifully concentrated, with sweet tannins, this masterpiece is already impossible to resist yet won't hit full maturity for another decade and will evolve for 50-60 years if well stored. (05/2023)

This will always be a great contrast to the dark power of the 2010, sporting lush layers of fig, boysenberry and blackberry confiture, carried by velvety tannins, flowing through a long, anise-, tobacco- and cocoa-fueled finish. Not shy on grip, but much rounder and plusher in feel. Hard to resist now, but there's absolutely no rush. -- Non-blind Mouton-Rothschild vertical (March 2017). Best from 2020 through 2050. 16,000 cases made.

- J.M.

Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Mouton Rothschild gives up bold earthy notions of underbrush, tilled soil and fungi over a core of crème de cassis, plum preserves and Indian spices with a waft of camphor. Full-bodied with a firm, velvety tannin texture and packed with black fruit preserves and exotic spice layers, it has seamless freshness and a very long, decadently fruited finish.

- Lisa Perrotti-Brown (03/2019)