1995 Château Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc; pH 3.68; IPT 64; 12.4% alcohol; 88% new oak; 95% selection for the grand vin.
Very dark, fully saturated ruby to the rim. Deep, brooding, rich blackberry, violet, milk chocolate, black pepper, cedar and incense aromas are sexy and captivating. Bright and focused on entry, then rich, smooth and suave, with highly concentrated red berries, dark plum, cedar and graphite flavours. The extremely long, juicy finish features lively acids, great balance and persistent notes of underbrush and minerals.
The mounting tannins coat the palate dry and are still years away from resolving fully. Harvested from September 12 through 27, the Merlot was probably very ripe. Tourbier said, “We included a bit more Merlot than usual because we felt the cabernet sauvignon had particularly tough tannins in 1995, and we didn’t want to risk making too tough or structured a wine. So we used the Merlot to soften it up a bit.”
The estate was so happy with the quality of the wine (and the rather high 95% selection for the grand vin speaks volumes), said Tourbier, that they only made 15 barriques of the second wine Petit Mouton, which was launched with the 1993 vintage. A huge volume year, 1995 was characterised by very fine weather through most of the growth cycle but was marred by September rains.
Ian D'Agata, Vinous.com (August 2011)
Harvested 12–27 September. 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc. Cabernet was rather compromised by rain during the harvest, while the Merlot was very successful.
Even darker than the 1996, this Mouton is still remarkably youthful in appearance. More flamboyant on the nose, with cigar box, spices, and leafy blackcurrant notes all evident. There is plenty of concentration and weight for further ageing, although the tannins are a little dry – perhaps a reflection of the harvest conditions—still a very impressive Mouton.
Drink 2015 - 2030
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (October 2021)
While the 1995 Mouton Rothschild has begun to soften somewhat in the last six or seven years, it remains remarkably youthful. Offering up a deep and primary bouquet of ripe cassis fruit and creamy new oak, it’s medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, with a vibrant core of concentrated fruit, powdery tannins and a long, resonant finish. This is a pure, beautifully balanced Mouton that simply hasn’t evolved very much, even as it closes in on its third decade. While I can attest that it can be drunk with great enjoyment today, real complexity has yet to emerge.
Drink 2020 - 2055
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (February 2022)
This explodes on the nose with prunes, blackberries, mushrooms and fresh tobacco. Full body, ripe tannins and a juicy finish. Big and powerful. It still could do with a decade or more of ageing.
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (November 2015)
This wine is evolving into one of Mouton-Rothschild’s greatest vintages. It boasts an inky purple colour and a powerful blockbuster nose of explosively jammy cassis intermingled with toasty new oak, minerals, and spice. The wine has extraordinary depth, richness, glycerin, and length. This is undoubtedly the greatest Mouton since the 1986, with a more precocious, up-front character than that wine. A formidable tannin level combined with low acidity (the wine’s PH is around 3.8), and magnificent layers of fruit suggest the 1995 will be approachable after bottling, but I expect it to close down (as most Mouton-Rothschilds do) after 6-7 years in the bottle, not to re-emerge for 15-20 years.
Drink 2005 - 2030
Robert M. Parker, Jr., Wine Advocate (January 1998)
Harvested from 12 September to 27 September. 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc.
Still remarkably dark, intense, and youthful in appearance, this Mouton shows more flamboyant characters on the nose than other vintages, with spices, a cigar box, and a blackcurrant leaf all on the fore. Rich, dense and fleshy palate with plenty of stuffing for further ageing. It is an impressive Mouton that lives up to the ‘star’ billing for the 1995 vintage, with nearly all components in great balance. The only question mark concerns the firm, which has slightly drying tannins that need to be fully integrated. I suspect they will, but the 1995 may not quite reach the height of the 1996.
Drink 2021 - 2030
Andy Howard, Decanter.com (September 2021)
About this WINE
Château Mouton Rothschild
Classified as a First Growth, Château Mouton Rothschild has a long and storied history; wine has been made here since Roman times. The property spans 82 hectares of vines in Pauillac, planted with the classic varieties of the region, Cabernet Sauvignon being predominant.
The estate has been in the Baron Philippe de 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 who revolutionised the estate and was the first to introduce château-bottling in 1924. He 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, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Anish Kapoor and Peter Doig.
His daughter Baroness Philippine continued to help raise the estate to new heights with numerous endeavours, including the inauguration of a new vat house in 2013. Today, her three children, Camille and Philippe 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. With his team, he oversees over 83 hectares of vines, planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (78%), Merlot (18%), Cabernet Franc (3%), and Petit Verdot (1%). The average age of the vines is around 50 years.
Pauillac
Pauillac is the aristocrat of the Médoc boasting boasting 75 percent of the region’s First Growths and with Grand Cru Classés representing 84 percent of Pauillac's production.
For a small town, surrounded by so many familiar and regal names, Pauillac imparts a slightly seedy impression. There are no grand hotels or restaurants – with the honourable exception of the establishments owned by Jean-Michel Cazes – rather a small port and yacht harbour, and a dominant petrochemical plant.
Yet outside the town, , there is arguably the greatest concentration of fabulous vineyards throughout all Bordeaux, including three of the five First Growths. Bordering St Estèphe to the north and St Julien to the south, Pauillac has fine, deep gravel soils with important iron and marl deposits, and a subtle, softly-rolling landscape, cut by a series of small streams running into the Gironde. The vineyards are located on two gravel-rich plateaux, one to the northwest of the town of Pauillac and the other to the south, with the vines reaching a greater depth than anywhere else in the Médoc.
Pauillac's first growths each have their own unique characteristics; Lafite Rothschild, tucked in the northern part of Pauillac on the St Estèphe border, produces Pauillac's most aromatically complex and subtly-flavoured wine. Mouton Rothschild's vineyards lie on a well-drained gravel ridge and - with its high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon - can produce (in its best years) Pauillac's most decadently rich, fleshy and exotic wine.
Latour, arguably Bordeaux's most consistent First Growth, is located in southern Pauillac next to St Julien. Its soil is gravel-rich with superb drainage, and Latour's vines penetrate as far as five metres into the soil. It produces perhaps the most long-lived wines of the Médoc.
Recommended Châteaux
Ch. Lafite-Rothschild, Ch. Latour, Ch. Mouton-Rothschild, Ch. Pichon-Longueville Baron, Ch. Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Ch. Lynch-Bages, Ch. Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Ch, Pontet-Canet, Les Forts de Latour, Ch. Haut-Batailley, Ch. Batailley, Ch. Haut-Bages Libéral.
Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
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Description
While the 1995 Mouton Rothschild has begun to soften somewhat in the last six or seven years, it remains remarkably youthful. Offering up a deep and primary bouquet of ripe cassis fruit and creamy new oak, it’s medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, with a vibrant core of concentrated fruit, powdery tannins and a long, resonant finish. This is a pure, beautifully balanced Mouton that simply hasn’t evolved very much, even as it closes in on its third decade. While I can attest that it can be drunk with great enjoyment today, real complexity has yet to emerge.
Drink 2020 - 2055
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (February 2022)
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