Press review

Parker # 134 (4/1/2001) : 88

This estate is finally making a good second wine. The 1998 Le Petit-Mouton, a blend of 61% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Cabernet Franc, it exhibits more of a Clerc-Milon-like character than Mouton. It offers good color, medium to full body, plenty of smoky cassis and licorice, and a soft, expansive, drinkable style.

The property in brief

The second wine of Château Mouton Rothschild has been produced since 1993. It is generally made from a selection of the youngest vines of the illustrious First Growth and harvested, vinified and bottled with the same painstaking care: the grapes are collected in small baskets; the wine is fermented in the famous Mouton oak vats and aged in barrels using traditional methods. Everything is done to ensure that the wine expresses the elegance and depth of a great Pauillac. The first vintage of the wine - 1993 - was simply called the "Second Wine of Mouton Rothschild", but it acquired its definitive name "Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild" in 1994. Is has a family connotation, since "Petit Mouton" is the name of Baroness Philippine’s residence at the heart of the estate.