Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2014

Tasting Note Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2014

Graphite and pencil shavings first, then blackcurrant that is dense rather than very present, with the new oak still sitting on top as sweet cedar and toast. This Château Mouton Rothschild 2014 was a bit closed on opening. The Low pH gives the palate a tight, classical line, and the Cabernet Sauvignon tannin is firm and fine-grained. Decanting helps a lot.

Grape Varieties

Cabernet Sauvignon forms the main part in Château Mouton Rothschild 2014, and the Pauillac gravel is why: warm stony soil ripens it slowly and gives the graphite-and-cassis spine.

• 81% Cabernet Sauvignon
• 16% Merlot, filling the mid-palate
• 3% Cabernet Franc for lift and aromatic detail

Pauillac, Saint-Julien and Saint-Estèphe all leaned hard on Cabernet in 2014.

Cellaring Potential

Best enjoyed between 2024 and 2050. For a bottle opened now, decant the wine. Serve at 16-18°C.

About Chateau Mouton Rothschild

This is the only winery to have changed its classification in the 1855 Classification. After decades of effort, Baron Philippe de Rothschild pushed for decades until Château Mouton Rothschild was made a First Growth in 1973, an achievement that no one has since been able to replicate. Furthermore, since 1945, each label has featured the work of a different artist; the artists were paid in cases of that vintage's wine instead of cash. Examples include Picasso, Dalí, and Karel Appel.

Terroir & Climate

A layer of gravel several meters deep rests atop clay-limestone soil. The stones and gravel store heat during the day and release it at night, helping the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes ripen evenly, while their excellent drainage prevents the vines from becoming waterlogged. Mouton's vineyards generally stretch along low hills less than 40 meters high. The nearby Gironde estuary moderates temperature fluctuations and reduces the risk of spring frosts throughout the Pauillac region.

Winemaking

The harvest is carried out by hand: the grapes are sorted directly on the vine and transported to the cellar in small crates. On arrival, the grapes undergo a second sorting, and those that meet the selection criteria are tipped into mobile hoppers, from which they flow into the fermentation vats solely by gravity, without the use of pumps.

The fermentation room is built on two levels, combining wood and steel, and upholds Mouton’s long-standing tradition of fermentation in oak vats. There are 44 wooden vats here, each fitted with transparent doors allowing the team to observe the fermentation process from top to bottom, as well as 20 stainless-steel vats. The vats vary in size according to the individual vineyard plots, enabling the wine to be selected and blended separately for each plot.

Ageing takes place in new French oak barrels for approximately twenty months, following the time-honoured Médoc tradition: topping up the barrels as the wine evaporates and fining with egg white to remove any suspended particles. Halfway through the ageing process, the barrels are moved from the ‘Grand-Chai’ to the second-year cellar, where the wine completes its ageing in the cool confines of the château.

Food Pairing

The firm Cabernet tannins call for the flavors of fat and protein. Pair it with a charcoal-grilled Côte de boeuf sprinkled only with salt, and nothing else. Lamb chops prepared using the classic Pauillac recipe highlight this wine's notes of cedar and graphite. For the same reason, a slow-cooked beef stew also pairs well. If you prefer a meatless menu, roasted eggplant or porcini risotto will beautifully complement the wine's earthy notes.