Mouton Rothschild 2012

robert_parker96

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

Tasted blind at the 2012 Southwold tasting, the 2012 Mouton-Rothschild showed magnificently (as it subsequently did in a vertical just a few weeks later). It has an open, intense bouquet with pencil lead and cedar infusing the black fruit, tertiary in style at first but then transforming with aeration to a more marine-influenced bouquet—seaweed and iodine. The palate is medium-bodied with supple ripe blackberry and boysenberry fruit. The tannins are ripe and fine, the acidity very well judged with a velvety, detailed finish that lingers long in the mouth. Density and harmony combine to make a stunning Mouton-Rothschild that should be afforded 15 years in bottle. It might be destined to be one of those wines forever eclipsed by recent outstanding vintages. Tasted January 2016.

robert_parker95

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

The 2012 Mouton-Rothschild has turned out well. Primarily all Cabernet Sauvignon, it exhibits a dense blue/purple color as well as lots of crème de cassis, incense and forest floor. Full-bodied and dense with sweet tannin, it is a surprisingly successful wine for this vintage. Give it another 5-8 years of cellaring and drink it over the following three decades.

robert_parker97

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

The intensely ripe Cabernet Sauvignon grown on the plateau at Mouton has produced an inky/purple-colored wine with the famous Mouton creme de cassis and floral characteristics vividly displayed. For the first time in a number of years they appear to have outdistanced their cross street rival, the biodynamically farmed Chateau Pontet Canet of Alfred Tesseron. Wonderfully sweet tannins envelop the enormous fruit and extravagant richness of this full-bodied Mouton Rothschild. With profound density as well as surprisingly sweet tannin, this terrific effort will probably shut down slightly and require 5-8 years of cellaring after bottling. It appears to have 30 or more years of aging potential, making it potentially one of the 3 or 4 longest-lived wines of the vintage. Mouton Rothschild has produced one of the vintage's most profound wines in 2012, and possibly the -wine of the Medoc.- About 49% of the production made it into the 2012 Mouton, which is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. The harvest took place during the middle two weeks of October. This may be one of the few 2012s that comes close to equaling what was achieved in both 2009 and 2010, two far superior vintages.

robert_parker95

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

Tasted twice en primeur at Mouton-Rothschild. A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc and 8% Merlot harvested from 1st October and finished on 15th October, with the best Cabernet Sauvignon picked between 8th and 12th October. This is the first vintage in the new facility – now there are 56 instead of 28 vats to make the selection. We can vinify plots that have never been vinified in isolation before. It has a very “classic” Mouton bouquet with small black cherries, blackberry, graphite and hints of vanilla lending it sweetness. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine, quite supple tannins. It is a very “correct” Mouton, without the flamboyance of the 2009 or 2010, but showing a little more delineation on the finish compared to the 2011. The aftertaste is long in the mouth with fine minerality – here we find the class and sophistication. This is an impressive, “stately” Mouton. Tasted April 2013.

robert_parker94

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

As for the 2012 Mouton Rothschild, one can’t help but love the artist’s label, in this case done by Miquel Barceló, of two rams fighting for superiority. Representing only 49% of the crop, this blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc has an inky bluish/purple color, which is far darker than its nearby neighbor, Lafite Rothschild, or even Pontet-Canet. Multi-layered, with rich, concentrated, crème de cassis fruit, a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, and stunning purity, this is a major success in 2012. Definitely a bigger, richer wine than rival Lafite Rothschild, Mouton’s 2012 seems to have more density as well. The tannins, however, remain soft and well-integrated. This wine should drink well for 25-30 years and is somewhat of a sleeper for a 2012 first-growth Médoc.

robert_parker96

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

Tasted at the Mouton-Rothschild vertical in London, the 2012 Mouton-Rothschild clearly has the upper hand over the 2011, if not quite at the level of the 2009, 2010 and what I envisage will be the 2015. There is obviously greater fruit intensity here, as if the contrast has been dialed up a couple of notches. It is quite showy on the nose, preening in its infancy with pure black cherries, graphite and hints of cold slate-like scents, later that hint of seaweed I observed when tasted blind a few months earlier. The palate is beautifully balanced with great vim and vigor. This is a Mouton that will not be put down - vivacious, vivid and delineated with wonderful focus and crucially, impressive persistence on the finish. Do not underestimate this Mouton-Rothschild, because I can see an upswing as it matures in bottle. Tasted April 2016.

vinous94

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2012 Mouton Rothschild continues to open up nicely. Forward, open and quite expressive, the 2012 looks like a wine that will drink well sooner rather than later. Dark cherry, plum, graphite, smoke and mocha meld into the inviting finish. The 2012 is not a huge wine, but it will open up sooner than some of the surrounding vintages. Time has only been a help for this open-knit, distinctly fruit-driven Mouton. The 2012 is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc harvested during the first fifteen days of October.

vinous95

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2012 Mouton Rothschild comes across as quite dark and ripe in this vintage. One of the richest, most powerful 2012s readers will come across, the Mouton boasts striking aromatics and overall density. Mocha, chocolate, graphite, smoke, licorice and dark-fleshed fruits all meld together in the glass. I imagine the 2012 will need a good decade before it starts drinking well. Slightly roasted notes and copious new oak stick out today, but these wines have a way of coming together in bottle.

vinous94

Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata

(90% cabernet sauvignon, 8% merlot and 2% cabernet franc): Deep ruby. Perfumed nose of red berries, cassis, flint, vanilla and peppery spices. Then fresh, juicy and suave in the mouth, with flavors of cassis, sweet cocoa and vanilla and a surprisingly fleshy, almost opulent texture for the vintage. Finishes very long, with smooth tannins and lingering ripe black cherry, vanilla and mocha nuances. One of the top ten wines of the vintage. Given the quality of Armailhac and Clerc Milon--and a good Le Petit Mouton too--I believe that general director Philippe Dhalluin has come up with THE best overall performance of the 2012 vintage.

vinous95

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2012 Mouton-Rothschild is an excellent wine for the vintage. Copious blackberry and blueberry fruits burst from the glass with incense and crushed violet scents, beautifully defined and perhaps even "audacious" for the growing season. The palate is "glossy" when compared directly to the other First Growth, yet there is brilliant delineation with a sense of tension on the finish. It's a vivid and almost brash Mouton-Rothschild, but quite compelling. Tasted blind in Bordeaux.

vinous94

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2012 Mouton Rothschild has a complex bouquet with predominantly red fruit, singed leather, cedar and warm gravel. You might have expected these aromatics to derive from a warmer growing season. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, fine acidity, quite fleshy and sweet with a lovely build towards the finish. Very long on the aftertaste, this is at the liminal point between primary and secondary fruit - lovely. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index's Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.