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  • Country ranking ?

    394
  • Producer ranking ?

    16
  • Decanting time

    8h
  • When to drink

    from 2020
  • Food Pairing

    Veal Chops in Rich Marsala Sauce

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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Climatic conditions at the Château / Nature was particularly kind in 2009, providing conditions that favoured the vegetation cycle and helped the grapes to reach full maturity. Winter was a little colder than usual, though in the period to March the region had 204 hours of sunshine more than the average for the last thirty years. April was very wet and May often stormy. Flowering took place rapidly and evenly around 5 June.

Summer set in from mid-June, bringing remarkable levels of sunshine and little rainfall. The very fine weather and high level of hydric stress, barely alleviated by a few showers, enabled the grapes to ripen slowly to full maturity. Temperatures in August were 1.4° C higher than the average. The ideal weather continued into September as cool nights alternated with hot days.

The weather, encouraging the concentration of aromas and flavours and the accumulation of anthocyans, brought the crop to harvest in perfect condition.

Picking began with the Merlot on 23 September and ended with the Cabernet Sauvignon on 6 October. The grapes were extremely healthy, containing plenty of sugar, colour and fruit and showing exceptional potential. 2009 will undoubtedly go down as a vintage to match the finest.

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The Story

Château Mouton Rothschild A Premier Cru Classé in 1973, Château Mouton Rothschild, owned by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, consists of 205 acres of vines near Pauillac, in the Médoc, North West of the city of Bordeaux. This Premier Cru benefits from exceptionally good natural conditions, both in the quality of the soil, the position of its vines and their exposure to the sun. It is regarded today as one of the world's greatest wine. 


The name Mouton is said to be derived from the word „Motte“ meaning mound or elevation of the ground. It was bought in 1853 by Philippe de Rothschilds great-grand father it was in a fairly bad shape and when the classification of 1855 was set up it was not deemed to be good enough to be qualified as a first growth but put in first place amongst the second growths. An injustice it took Philippe de Rothschild until 1973 to rectify. 1920s Philippe de Rothschild called together the owners of Haut Brion, Latour, Lafite, Margaux and Yquem to talk about the idea of bottling and marketing their wines on their own.

The first vintage to be bottled exclusivly at the château was the 1924 vintage. To commemorate this, the cubistic painter Carlu was asked to design the label, yet another revolutionary idea in this most conservative of surroundings. The idea of an artist designing the labels was dropped until 1945 when Philippe Jullian was asked to design a label commemorating the victory over nazi Germany. Since then works of such famous artists as Picasso, Miró, Dali, Chagall and personalities like John Huston and Prince Charles have been used for the labels.


In 1988, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, who had already been associated with her father's work for some time, succeeded her father. She has in turn become the guarantor of the quality of an illustrious wine whose motto proudly proclaims : "Premier je suis, second je fus, Mouton ne change". First I am, second I was, I Mouton do not change

Vineyard soil: very deep gravel on a limestone base Production area: 82.5 ha Grape varieties: 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot Average age of vines: 48 years Harvest method: hand picked. The grapes from the younger vines are harvested first and vinified separately.

Winemaking: Before destemming, the grapes are hand-sorted then selected one by one. Vinification depends on each vintage and the characteristics of each vat. All the relevant parameters, such as temperature, pumping over, aeration, vatting time and running off, are monitored by the technical manager, the cellar-master and the laboratory.
Ageing: 19 to 22 months in oak barrels (almost all new, the percentage varying according to the vintage)
 

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Wine Information

The British painter and sculptor, Anish Kapoor, was commissioned this year to design the label for the 2009 vintage of Château Mouton Rothschild, Médoc First Growth, following the artistic tradition that dates back to 1945.

The gouache, with its dominant colors of black and red, “expresses the fertile thrust of plant life, the result of an intense encounter between matter and light”, describes a press release issued by Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A.

After a short-lived launch in 1924, it wasn’t until 1945, with the “V” for victory label designed by the painter Philippe Jullian to celebrate the return of peace, that the practice of commissioning an original work by a renowned contemporary artist each year to illustrate the labels for Château Mouton Rothschild became established. Cocteau, Braque, Dali, César, Miró, Chagall, Picasso, Warhol, Soulages, Bacon, Balthus, and Tàpies, among many others, have succeeded one another, making up a collection that, for the past twenty years, has constituted the traveling exhibition “Mouton Rothschild, Paintings for the Labels”. Last year’s label was signed by Chinese artist Xu Lei.

Anish Kapoor was praised last year for his monumental work ‘Leviathan’ exhibited at the Grand Palais in Paris in 2011, and has been commissioned to create the emblematic sculpture for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Mouton Rothschild considers that its 2009 vintage may be classed “among some of the exceptional achievements of the past few years”, thanks to “weather conditions which were extremely favorable to the vine’s growth cycle and the ripening of the grapes.”

One of five Premiers Grands Crus Classés 1855, Château Mouton Rothschild has 80 hectares of vines in Pauillac, planted with Cabernet-Sauvignon (83%), Cabernet-Franc (3%) and Merlot (14%) grape varieties. A bottle of the 2009 vintage is currently on the market for around 900 euros, taxes not included.

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Vintage 2009

Much like 1947, 1961 and 2005, 2009 is a year of almost overly (for Bordeaux) flamboyant and opulent wines with high maturity and low acidity. The tannins are exceptionally ripe, while the wines are quite voluptuous in style. The Left Bank recorded more hours of sunshine than legendary vintages such as 1947 and 1982, and the grapes had higher sugar concentrations than in 2003 and 2005. The key was significant diurnal temperature variations that allowed the grapes to withstand hot daytime temperatures. An exceptional vintage on all levels.

 

 

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Tasting note

color

Deep, Ruby red and Bright

ending

Long, Gentle and Pure

flavors

Blackcurrant, Cigar-box, Tobacco, Licorice, Voluptuous and Smoky

nose

Youthful, Complex, Seductive and Pure

recommend

Yes

taste

Medium tannin, Complex, Well-Integrated, Well-structured, Youthful, Medium-bodied, Elegant, Round, Harmonious, Dry and Silky tannins

Verdict

Transparent and Intelligent

Written Notes

I didn’t have much left in the tank, but enough to tell you that the 2009 Mouton Rothschild was much more forward in the nose but even more shut down than the 2005 (94).
  • 94p

Superb openness and opulence on the nose, with black cherry, violet, liquorice, bitter chocolate and fine-grained tannins. Long finish still driven by fruit, and there is surely much more development in store.

  • 93p

Tasted blind. Rich and intriguing. There is savour and intrigue here but perhaps a little less concentration than some. More open then some. Salty and mineral.

  • 96p

With a ton of ripe blackcurrant and some bitter chocolate this is a rich and rather opulent wine that still retains a delightful freshness and has a long, positively dry finish. Drink or hold.

  • 98p

Black red, concentrated black fruits, rich satiny/velvety yet firm texture, rich, plummy, spicy, an explosion of aromas and flavours, surrounded and controlled by superb tannins, a sensually expressive wine. Drink 2016-40.

  • 96p

Opulent and New World-like in its ripeness and expression with toasty oak still dominating the flavours. Rich, full bodied and generous and offering quite an intense palate profile of blackberries and black currant fruits

  • 94p

Tasted three times - last time in January 2017. Consistent notes. Extremely refined and sophisticated, decadent and rich. Fantastic experience and pure enjoyment!

  • 100p
Ruby. Cassis, anise, leather, exotic and flirting, superb and deeper feel to the nose, layered, complex and detailed. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, cassis, rounded texture, fruity, layered, seductive, imense palate, truly long. 100
  • 100p
Mouton 2009 Great dark red colour and completely opaque. Rich and open bouquet with exquisite aromas of spices, black fruits and new oak. On the palate the wine still boasted aggressive tannins, with an almost fleshy structure. On the palate it was rich and spiny, possessing excellent acidity with flashes of fruit and earth. Good intensity, and some ripe, sweet fruit were already around. A substantial finale, hard tannins holding firm, great length pooled with class and freshness. Already an amazingly satisfactory wine with lots of life ahead. Pure Bordeaux drinking pleasure! 95 points
  • 95p
Good looking magnum size bottle, in an perfect condition and has bottom neck level. Colour is ruby red, and looking bright, deep and youthful . On the nose it is intense, youthful, complex, fresh, seductive and generous. The taste is harmonious, rich, vigor, elegant, with silky tannins, with complex and perfectly balanced structure. On the palate it is layered and has blackcurrant, cigar-box, leather, honey, mineral, dried-fruit, spice, perfumed, vanilla and tobacco flavours. The finish is long, round and extensive. This wine is transparent, sophisticated, intelligent and outstanding. Perfectly stored bottles are still very worthy and will last well for another 20-30 years and decant at least over 4h before tasting. Good value for money. I do recommend.
- (Tasting note created by Tb's AI)
  • 97p
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Information

Origin

Pauillac, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Extraordinary

Value For Money

Very good

Investment potential

Very Good

Fake factory

None

Glass time

3h

Drinking temperature

16

Inside Information

Parker 99 points: The 2009 Mouton Rothschild has a striking label from Anish Kapoor. The wine is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot that begs comparison as a young wine with what the 1982 tasted like in 1985 or, I suspect, what the 1959 may have tasted like in 1962. Representing 50% of their production, the wine has an inky purple color to the rim and not terribly high alcohol for a 2009 (13.2%), but that is reflected by the high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a remarkable nose of lead pencil shavings, violets, creme de cassis and subtle barrique smells. It is stunningly opulent, fat, and super-concentrated, but the luxurious fruit tends to conceal some rather formidable tannins in the finish. This is an amazing wine that will be slightly more drinkable at an earlier age than I thought from barrel, but capable of lasting 50 or more years. Kudos to the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and the entire Mouton team, lead by Monsieur Dalhuin.

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