LE PETIT MOUTON 2nd wine of Ch. Mouton-Rothschild, Pauillac 2022 Bottle

Description

A flamboyant and seriously impressive Le Petit Mouton, bursting with ripe berries, plum, blue fruit and enticing notes of liquorice, dark chocolate, graphite and orange peel. Full-bodied yet wonderfully approachable, the palate combines supple, well-integrated tannins with freshness, minerality and impressive depth. James Suckling calls it “already gorgeous” and “hard not to drink now”, while Decanter highlights its “great grip and intensity” and describes it as a “stand out with lots of promise”. Neal Martin finds it “very fine”, praising its sapidity and freshness. With 96 James Suckling, 94 Decanter and 93 Vinous, this is a powerful, polished Pauillac with plenty of immediate charm and the structure to develop beautifully over the next decade and beyond.

JAMES SUCKLING 96 points/100
A really flamboyant wine beginning with lots of berries, plums, asphalt and orange peel before turning to blue fruits. Full-bodied and medium round tannins give a softness and drinkability. Long finish. Give it three to four years to come together but already gorgeous. Hard not to drink now.
James Suckling, Senior Editor

DECANTER 94 points/100
Tasted by: Georgina Hindle (at UGCB tasting, Bordeaux Intercontinental Hotel, 01 Apr 2023)
Drinking Window: 2027 - 2042
Darkly scented nose, liquorice, dark chocolate and black bramble fruits, smells rich, intense and fragrant. Smooth and supple, clean, clear and crisp, a nice purity to this with clear minerality and bite. A touch lean, some austerity here though balanced by juiciness and corresponding acidity, nicely bright but serious at the same time given the dark fruits and spiced edges. Tannins are well integrated, this is just a little sharp and straight, not yet softening and expanding but such great potential. Good grip and intensity, this is a powerful wine, focussed with persistence. A great stand out with lots of promise. 11.3% press wine - usually at 7-8% maximum. 3% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.86pH. 80 IPT. Aged 60% in new barrels.

VINOUS 93 points/100
Drinking window: 2030 - 2060
The 2022 Le Petit Mouton has a well-defined bouquet with graphite-tinged black fruit that gains intensity in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, quite peppery in style but there is ample sapidity and freshness on the finish. Very fine. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.
Neal Martin. Tasting date: January 2026


*****

A first growth in the 1855 Classification, Château Mouton Rothschild has a long and storied history; wine has been made here since Roman times.

The estate has been in the Rothschild family since 1853, but it wasn’t until the arrival of Baron Philippe de Rothschild in 1922 that its fortunes were transformed. Baron Philippe was a dynamic figure and revolutionised the estate. He was the first to introduce château-bottling, as early as 1924.
Baron Philippe also introduced the concept of commissioning an artist to design each new vintage’s label. Some of the most notable contributors include Salvador Dalí, Henry Moore, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and Anish Kapoor.

His daughter Baroness Philippine continued to help raise Ch. Mouton Rothschild to new heights with numerous endeavours, including the inauguration of a new vat house in 2013.

Today, her three children, Philippe and Camille Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, continue the efforts of their predecessors.

Following the retirement in 2020 of Philippe Dhalluin, the winemaking team is now headed up by Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy. Danjoy, who was already in place as Director at Ch. Clerc Milon, brings with him considerable experience. He had also worked alongside Dhalluin for over a decade.

The estate, which spans 83 hectares of vines, is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (78%), Merlot (18%), Cabernet Franc (3%) and Petit Verdot (1%). The average age of the vines is around 45 years.

In style, the wines have immense appeal, with exotic, powerful aromas of cassis, minerals, tobacco leaf and graphite, backed by an opulence on the palate and impressive length on the finish. “Flamboyant” is a word sometimes used in tasting notes, and in comparative blind tastings this attribute is frequently what sets Mouton apart.