Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild 2023

Expressive, smoky, ripe fruit, cool at the core; incredibly crisp fruit, wrapped in fine-grained tannins, fresh finish. Successful!

Quite medicinal on the nose with a vibrant purple colour to the rim. Smells rich and ripe but cool and fresh too. Juicy and fun, this makes the mouth water and you want to smile straight away with hints of steely minerality, cool blueberries, crisp cranberries and sweet strawberries. Feels very calm, very accessible, stylish and confident. Harmonious and balanced and easy to enjoy with tannins that coat the mouth with silkiness yet still has amplitude on the palate. Great stuff, very delicious. 39% production. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

Cigar box, tobacco, flowers, smoke, truffle, mint, and crème de cassis form the nose. On the palate, the wine is packed with ripe, juicy, flavorful currants, herbs, spice, and black raspberries. There is length, purity, and freshness. Perhaps most importantly, you have lift, sweetness, and creamy textures on the mid-palate and finish. The wine blends 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. 13.3% ABV, 3.74 pH. Drink from 2028–2050. 92–94 pts.

Deep dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, delicate edge brightening. Delicate nuances of oak, blackberry, savoury notes, a hint of blackberry and nougat. Medium body, fresh red cherry, ripe tannins, appears light-footed, mineral, a salty touch on the finish, a balanced food companion.

Densely interwoven bouquet, soothing cool blackcurrant, elderberry juice, perfumed pipe tobacco. On the multilayered palate, a silky texture, a tight, cocoa-like tannic frame, and vibrant drive. In the concentrated, long finish, elderberry juice, blackberry jelly, and a noble astringency. “This is Mouton,” says Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy proudly. “The vines were able to take their time; the extra ripening shows in the polished tannins.”

Slate and grip, clear again here that this is not the most exuberant of vintages; it's classical, with a serious backbone. That doesn't mean that Petit Mouton isn't out to make you happy, and you can expect plenty of black chocolate, damson, black cherry, signature cocoa bean, espresso and salted cracker, but the tannins are pretty fierce. Harvest September 7 to 30 (but 2/3 of grapes coming in after September 21), 39% of production.

A lovely, elegant, racy, precise nose offering beautifully calibrated intensity, a certain concentration, an airy feel within its density, and a subtle hint of cubeb pepper and fresh nutmeg. It reveals notes of bright raspberry, ripe wild red berries and, more subtly, pepper, joined by touches of maceration and a discreet hint of fresh licorice. The palate is nicely fresh, mineral, supple, elegant, with a fine racy character (fresh gravel), delivering a tangy backbone, precision, notes of juicy/fresh blackcurrant and, more lightly, violet, combined with touches of bright raspberry and juicy/fresh red berries, lifted by hints of roasted and fresh red berries, as well as fine, almost herbal nuances, infusion, black tea, and cocoa/chocolate. The tannins are sapid, supple, and gourmand. Nicely sculpted, with great classical elegance. Vibrant.

The 2023 Le Petit Mouton offers aromas of cassis, burning embers and cigar wrapper, framed by a touch of toasty oak. Full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it’s rich, dense and layered, with an ample core of fruit and ripe structuring tannins.

92-94. Barrel Sample. This second wine is smoky with rich tannins and a smooth texture that promises some good aging. It is a structured and powerful wine that should develop well.