Petit Mouton (2nd wine of Mouton Rothschild) 2018

Pauillac, Second wine

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Tasting Notes

The 2018 Le Petit Mouton continues a strong run for this Second Wine. It has an upfront, quite bold bouquet offering a mixture of red and black fruit, freshly tilled soil, potpourri and cedar. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins on the entry. A structured Le Petit Mouton with good grip and salinity. It becomes a little peppery toward the finish, and the graphite lingering on the aftertaste is très Pauillac. Excellent.

Score: 92

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2023 - 2040 23 August 2021

The 2018 Le Petit Mouton is an atypical vintage insofar as it contains a higher percentage of Merlot this year. It presents a very pure, almost Right Bank bouquet of wild strawberry, raspberry and crushed stone aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with a fresh, lively entry, firm grip and good volume. A subtle finishing note of cracked black pepper note lingers in the mouth. Excellent.

Score: 91 - 93

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2023-2040 01 November 2019

A brilliant effort that matches most estates' Grand Vins, the 2018 Le Petit Mouton De Mouton Rothschild (56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc) reveals a deep purple hue as well as a ripe yet fresh bouquet of crème de cassis, candied violets, graphite, lead pencil shavings, and background oak, with a touch of rocky, crushed stone-like minerality showing with time in the glass. Beautifully concentrated and full-bodied, with a solid spine of acidity and ripe polished tannins, give bottles 5-7 years, and it's going to evolve for 20-30 years or more. This is a serious, elegant yet powerful second wine.

Score: 94

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Maturity: 2026 - 2056 22 July 2021

The 2018 Le Petit Mouton De Mouton-Rothschild is a beauty and shows both the richer, sexy style of the vintage as well as notable elegance and purity. Crème de cassis, violets, and lead pencil notes all emerge from this richly textured, full-bodied, yet pure and precise beauty. With building tannins and a great finish, it should be drinkable in just 3-5 years yet keep for three decades. The blend is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc brought up in 60% new French oak.

Score: 93 - 95

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 01 May 2019

The 2018 Le Petit Mouton is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. It represents about 26% of the total crop and has 14% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it struts its way out of the glass with showy, flamboyant scents of Morello cherries, blackcurrant pastilles, preserved plums and black raspberries, plus suggestions of potpourri and Chinese five spice. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers fantastic freshness with velvety tannins and loads of spicy sparks emanating from the red and black berry preserves layers, finishing with a minty kick.

Score: 93

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2022 - 2037 17 July 2021

The 2018 Le Petit Mouton is blended of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, harvested September 10 to October 3. It represents about 26% of the total crop and has 14% alcohol—the alcohol has never been this high! Deep garnet-purple, it comes bounding out of the glass with sit-up-and-beg notes of crème de cassis, plum preserves and mulberries plus nuances of chocolate box, Chinese five spice, licorice and candied violets. Full-bodied, rich and oh-so-hedonic, the palate is packed with juicy black fruit layers wrapped in a firm, velvety structure, with loads of fragrant spice layers on the very long finish.

Score: 92 - 94

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 23 April 2019

Real purity of fruit with currants, blackberries and flowers that show on both the nose and palate. It’s full-bodied with layers of ripe tannins that are polished and creamy. Delicious finish. So attractive now. Second wine of Mouton. Ethereal. But give this three or four years to come around.

Score: 97

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Maturity: 2024/2025+ 03 March 2021

This is phenomenal with such dense and layered tannins that go on for minutes. It’s full-bodied with blackberries, blueberries and chocolate. Sexy and so beautiful. Not sure what to say here. Maybe it should have gone into the first wine?

Score: 97 - 98

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 11 April 2019

Real purity of fruit with currants, blackberries and flowers that show on both the nose and palate. It’s full-bodied with layers of ripe tannins that are polished and creamy. Delicious finish. So attractive now. Second wine of Mouton. Ethereal. But give this three or four years to come around.

Score: 97

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Maturity: 2024/2025+ 03 March 2018

Exuberant as always but here with pretty serious tannins, the result of small berries and a low yield of 28hl/ha, so a little more tension than many vintages of Petit Mouton (they also harvested a little earlier). This gives a finesse that is highly appealing with tons of coffee, chocolate and damson character. 26% of overall production - a little less than usual - and 11% press wine. Harvest September 10 to October 3.

Score: 94

Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2022-2040 10 November 2020

This is a serious, deep and beautifully enticing wine with plenty of that glossy, glamorous Petit Mouton appeal. Ripe damson in colour, it has more Merlot in the blend than a typical year because only a small amount of the variety made it through to the first wine. The Merlots were however, as you see at many Médoc properties, unusually rich and structured and this feels enveloping and hard to resist. Extraction was slow and careful and the liquorice, chocolate, grilled sarment notes are subtle but pressing. Yields were 28hl/ha whereas a usual year would be closer to 35hl/ha. 26% of overall production, a little less than usual, and 11% press wine.

Score: 92

Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2024-2036 15 April 2019

The 2018 Le Petit-Mouton is unusual in that it contains a high (40%) amount of Merlot. Pliant, racy and supple, the Petit-Mouton should drink well with minimal cellaring. In many vintages, Petit-Mouton is a smaller-scaled version of the Grand Vin, but in 2018, the elevated presence of Merlot yields a wine that is quite different in style, with softer contours and a much gentler overall feel than is often the case. The blend is 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. Yields were about 28 hectoliters per hectare as opposed to 34-37.

Score: 90 - 93

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com 01 April 2019

Fresh and pure, with a mouthwatering edge to the cassis and bitter plum flavors that form the core. A bright iron streak defines the finish. Very focused.

Score: 91 - 94

James Molesworth, Wine Spectator 01 April 2019