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Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild

2010
Blend
8% Cabernet Franc
68% Cabernet Sauvignon
24% Merlot
Country
France
Region
Bordeaux
Appellation
Pauillac
UPC
0 15643 75565 1
Red Wine
Verified Stock
1503-10
Product Ratings
Wine Advocate 91pt

It is a fabulous wine, but if you want to drink something reminiscent of Mouton Rothschild before 2025, it is probably worth taking a look at the 2010 Le Petit Mouton, which seems to be going from strength to strength at this estate. This wine has 14% natural alcohol because there is more Merlot in it. (Merlot is riper and ferments into slightly higher alcohol than Cabernet Sauvignon.) This wine represents 26% of the crop. The creme de cassis character is also present, along with tobacco leaf, cedar, and a more evolved, chocolaty, spicy note. Opulent, fleshy and round, it should drink well for two decades.

by Wine Advocate, 2013
Wine Spectator 91pt

Solid, with forward black currant, plum skin and crushed blackberry fruit lined with charcoal, showing a dusting of loam on the finish. Features some cedar-tinged grip, but remains more accessible than most of the 2010 Pauillacs. Drink now through 2022

by Wine Spectator, 2013

Climatic conditions

2010 was a dry but relatively cool year, with no summer heatwave. A generally cold winter gave way to a dry and cool spring that ended with some rainfall in mid-June. Temperatures started rising on 21 June and the summer weather continued throughout a particularly sunny July. The fine conditions of late July were followed by a cloudier, slightly cooler and very dry August. Summer weather returned on 21 August with high temperatures (reaching 38 celsius on the 25th and 26th) and cool nights, getting the ripening process off to a good start. A welcome spell of rain between 6 and 8 September helped the grapes to mature. Acidity levels fell and phenolic maturation was slow but the crop remained in excellent condition. The fine weather returned, still accompanied by cool nights, encouraging the quality and synthesis of anthocyans and flavour until the harvest. After showers on 26 September, picking started on 28 September in very good conditions and ended on 13 October. Naturally concentrated, the grapes were small and their juice, rich and highly coloured, displayed good acidity. These factors – dry conditions without drought, an exceptional amount of sunshine, cool nights and rainfall that arrived at just the right time – give the 2010 vintage a remarkable identity. A splendid sequel to 2009, it is sure to become an outstanding year in the long history of fine Bordeaux wine.

Tasting notes

The wine is purple.
Petit Mouton 2010 reveals a rich and complex nose on pleasant red fruit and vanilla aromas with hints of cocoa.
The attack is immediately round and elegant. On the palate, forward, tightly-knit tannins provide a framework for deep, ripe fruit flavours that mingle harmoniously with roasted notes.
The finish is flavoursome, on fruit and vanilla notes.