Press review

Parker # 146 (4/1/2003) : 88

An unusual blend of 70% Cabernet Franc, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Merlot, the 2000 Le Petit Mouton is herbal and cedary, and just not my style, but I admire its singularity, purity, and overall balance. Drink it over the next 10-12 years.

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.