Château Mouton Rothschild 2010

This remains the stunner, a battleship of a wine, brimming with cassis, blackberry and fig fruit that has melded together now, with the backdrop of alder, bay leaf and menthol starting to emerge a bit more. The long finish is loaded with grip, pulling the fruit and other components together. And then there's that flash of iron at the very end. Awesome wine. -- Non-blind Mouton-Rothschild vertical (March 2017). Best from 2025 through 2060.

Smoked grilled tar on the nose, it feels both very 2010 and supremely Mouton – accomplished and confident. A more glamorous, enticing edge than the other Pauillac Firsts at this 10-year window. There are plentiful tannins but they are lined with air, and the overall feel is of plush, plumped fruits, like being rolled up in luxurious sheets. It is very different in character to the other two Pauillac Firsts, but no less enjoyable. It feels higher in alcohol, more Cos than Lafite in terms of personality, in the way that Pichon Baron is more Latour than Comtesse, but it is nuanced and clever and surprising.

Clearly a perfect wine that shows incredible depth of fruit with currants, dark chocolate, minerals and licorice. Full-bodied, tight and wound up with ripe tannins that let go and seduce you. Makes me want to drink it now. But this is a wine for the long term. Extraordinary. 94% Cabernet Sauvignon. Better in 2020.

Very naughty heavy bottle. Some evolution at the rim. Rich, heady nose. Thick and bloody. Lots of drama – even melodrama! Salty finish and perhaps not quite as sweet as it could be. Admirably long. (JR)

The 2010 Mouton-Rothschild has a broody, backward but utterly spellbinding bouquet that gradually unfurls to reveal blackcurrant and blueberry fruit, crushed stone and freshly rolled tobacco, just a hint of chimney soot in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity and a silky caressing texture. It builds towards a very intense and beautifully defined finish that feels very long, just a hint of truffle lingering on the aftertaste. Brilliant. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.

Incredible in every sense of the word, this has everything you could want in a Pauillac and from Mouton Rothschild. Just as good, but different in style from the opulence found in 2009, here you find incredible levels of intensity, density, richness, vibrancy, and lift. The wall of fruit is perfectly ripe, expressing its purity along with crushed rocks, flowers, spice box, lead pencil, currants, cassis, blackberries, and Cuban cigars. The racy finish is seamless and crosses the 60-second mark with ease. This is not a wine for today. This is for the future. Your children can enjoy it at maturity. Drink from 2030–2080.

Deep dark ruby, purple reflections, slightly watery rim. Attractive blackberry hints, fine herbal spice, delicate tobacco notes, a touch of spice, floral aspects, somewhat restrained but multi-faceted. Complex, tight-knit, ripe cherries, soft notes of sour cherry, peppery nuances, firm, well-integrated tannins, nougat on the finish, shows good length and freshness, a bit closed at the moment, the fruit is a bit dull, a timeless classic with great ageing potential.

Just about pure perfection, the 2010 Château Mouton Rothschild is a concentrated, massive, concentrated effort that offers everything you could want from a wine. Almost all Cabernet Sauvignon (94%), its deep purple/plum hue is followed by a gorgeous bouquet of classic Mouton cassis, spicy oak, chocolate, and graphite, with more tobacco and leather nuances developing with time in the glass. With flawless balance, ripe yet substantial tannins, and a monster of a finish, this flat-out great Pauillac is still on the early slopes of its prime drinking plateau. Give bottles another 4-5 years and enjoy through 2085.

94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot. 49% Grand Vin, approx. 14% alcohol, 34 hl/ha. Deep purple-garnet, dense at the core, violet hue on the rim. Floral bouquet, bramble, blueberry vines, licorice and cassis, also showing a lovely, fairly profound spice. Homogeneous flow on the palate; everything is already very finely wrapped, velvety texture, silky tannins, dark roasted notes underneath. Feminine elegance with a brilliant aftertaste. A great yet reassuring Mouton. Perhaps, as with many other wines from this hard-to-assess vintage, things will be quite different in 10 years. On the way out I ran into the technical director Philippe Dhalluin and asked why there was no longer any Cabernet Franc in the Mouton blend? “Since the 2006 vintage I’ve no longer used Cabernet Franc for Mouton. Tasted on their own, these lots are always very good, but as soon as we try to add them to the blend you get the feeling the wine loses concentration. At the moment there’s unfortunately no Petit Verdot either. We had to replace it and have replanted some. When they once again show sufficient potential, we’ll use it again as a joker!” 20: Incredibly dark color, purple-black. The nose shows lots of mocha-chocolate and dark berry aromas, especially cassis and blackberry. The aromatic picture is enormously dense, compact, yet already shows the first, minimal opening. The palate is surprisingly soft and silky, the tannins are creamy and the astringency is noble, expansive, but by far not what I would have expected from a usually demanding 2010. On the second pass it grips more and clearly signals its desire for further, possibly decades-long bottle aging. The finish remains black-berried, but also shows refreshing, floral streaks. A massive yet not loud Mouton. Almost the intellectual style of a potential wine of the century. Reassuring, majestic, powerful. Current prices for this wine range between 650 and 700 francs. Unfortunately one must assume there’s still upside potential. So not a silly investment, despite the already high level. My score also still has potential: (19/20).

(94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot) Dense, profound, complex, fresh bouquet: plums, black berries, tobacco, delicate roasted notes, black cassis, mint. Dense, layered, creamy, finely opulent, elegant palate with rich, varied aromatics, plenty of fine tannin, an elegantly interwoven structure, concentrated fruit, very long, fresh, refined finish with excellent retronasal aromas. Could still reach the maximum score with further ageing. 19/20 2020 - 2045

Hard to give a wine of the vintage in 2010, as there are so many exceptional bottles from the top estates, but it's not so hard to say that Pauillac is the appellation of the year - and this Mouton shows you why. Gunsmoke and campfire aromatics, glamorously encapsulating the house style with its plush and juicy damson and black cherry fruits, supremely confident, studded with pomegranate, orange peel, cumin and freshly cut herbs, generous without relinquishing control, deceptively supple tannins that know exactly what to do. Will deliver for decades, and it is an exceptionally beautiful wine. 100% new oak, Philippe Dhalluin director. Tasted ex-retail, not ex-château.

Sumptuous overall, still too marked by the barrel on the nose—at least on this bottle—with admirably velvety texture but a massive tannic comeback, carrying all the intensity of cabernet-sauvignon (94.5% of the blend!). Wait, and keep waiting, knowing that the 2013 and 2012 will provide a perfect stand-in for a long time.

An initial toasted nose, hedonistic with cedar and sandalwood, with the invigorating salinity of tidal-pool puddles, where the water is deep, dark, impenetrable. Then comes a note of dahlias, picked under a warm August rain in a beautiful parish priest’s garden. On the palate, this premier cru shows a dominant salinity that then guides you through a range of other flavors, while maintaining a silky, very sensual texture. The wine caresses your tongue, like the salty water of the Dead Sea caresses your skin, for a meditative effect. Wow!

The nose is elegant, fresh, and offers concentration (with delicacy), power (with subtlety), lovely depth, fine grain, and a melodious, multi-layered character. This wine benefits from decanting. It reveals notes of vibrant blackberry, pulpy blackcurrant and, more slightly, pulpy gariguette strawberry, combined with touches of violet, racy minerality, graphite, small black fruits, as well as fine hints of licorice, sweet spices, discreet hints of cinnamon and hazelnut, and an imperceptible touch of pepper (in the background). The palate is fruity, perfectly balanced/refined, elegant, and offers delicacy, gourmandise, a lovely fine grain, tension (with finesse), power (with delicacy), concentration, a multi-layered/melodious profile, lovely delicacy, a hint of darkness, depth, and a beautiful brightness of ripe/juicy/delicately tangy fruit. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of ripe wild blackcurrant, ripe wild black berries, fresh/pulpy raspberry and, more slightly, juicy/fresh strawberry, combined with touches of graphite, incense, racy minerality, dark chocolate/mocha, morello cherry, and discreet hints of coffee (in the background). The tannins are elegant, fresh, precise, and structuring.

Logo on the cork: M Tasted blind, not decanted. Dark color, intense and slightly evolved. Intense nose with ripe fruit, subtle and creamy, with a smoky touch. Soft on the attack, juicy mid-palate, very flavorful and pleasant, the wine glides across the palate then falls off on the finish, even though the aroma lingers. An entry more reminiscent of Pontet Canet than of Pichon Baron.

A dense, smooth and opulent wine bursting with ripe Cabernet Sauvignon flavors. It's regal and well structured, balancing the natural exuberance of Mouton with a more severe side. This is a wine with power, yet not without its charms from the fruitiness and final acidity. This great wine will age many, many years.