Mouton Rothschild - Pauillac 1995

Jamessuckling.com

95

byJames Sucklingthe3/17/2015

This explodes on the nose with prunes, blackberries, mushrooms and fresh tobacco. Full body, ripe tannins and a juicy finish. Big and powerful. Still could do with a decade or more of ageing.

Wine Advocate

92

byNeal Martinthe6/30/2011

This bottle of Mouton ’95 was surprisingly disjointed on the nose and seemed to be cowering next to the ’96. The herbaceous element was more pronounced than anticipated, some lovely hot gravel and stony scents but missing the breeding of the following vintage. The palate is better with blackcurrant, cedar, graphite and slightly coarse tannins. This is like a car that cannot get out of second gear and yet, it seems like a very nice automobile. I would like to taste this again but on this showing, go ’96. Tasted February 2011.

Wine Advocate

96

byRobert Parkerthe9/1/1998

This wine is evolving into one of Mouton-Rothschild's greatest vintages. It boasts an inky purple color, as well as a powerful, blockbuster nose of explosively jammy cassis intermingled with toasty new oak, minerals, and spice. The wine is layered, with 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. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2030. Last tasted 1/97

Wine Advocate

95

byRobert Parkerthe2/28/1998

Bottled in June, 1997, this profound Mouton is more accessible than the more muscular 1996. A blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 19% Merlot, it reveals an opaque purple color, and reluctant aromas of cassis, truffles, coffee, licorice, and spice. In the mouth, the wine is "great stuff," with superb density, a full-bodied personality, rich mid-palate, and a layered, profound finish that lasts for 40+ seconds. There is outstanding purity and high tannin, but my instincts suggest this wine is lower in acidity and slightly fleshier than the brawnier, bigger 1996. Both are great efforts from Mouton-Rothschild. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2030.

Wine Spectator

96

byJames Sucklingthe1/31/1998

This classic wine is only showing a portion of what it's got to offer, but it's excellent even so. Inky in color, with masses of berry, violet, mint, mineral and cherry character, and full in body, with tons of velvety tannins and a moderate finish. Needs time to open. Best after 2004.

Wine Advocate

95-97

byRobert Parkerthe2/1/1997

After less than persuasive performances in two potentially great years, 1989 and 1990, Mouton-Rothschild appears to have settled down, producing fine efforts in recent vintages, culminating with the enormously promising, unquestionably profound 1995. This wine is evolving into one of Mouton-Rothschild's greatest vintages. It boasts an inky purple color, as well as a powerful, blockbuster nose of explosively jammy cassis intermingled with toasty new oak, minerals, and spice. The wine is layered, with 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. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2030. Although Mouton-Rothschild can be among the most inconsistent first-growths, when this estate gets everything right, the wine can be as compelling as any produced in Bordeaux.

Wine Advocate

95-97

byRobert Parkerthe4/1/1996

When Mouton-Rothschild gets everything right it is unquestionably a candidate for the wine of the vintage. Mouton did indeed hit the bull's eye in 1995, making the greatest wine produced at this estate since the legendary duo of 1982 and 1986. The harvest began on September 18 and finished on September 28. A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 8% Cabernet Franc, the 1995 appears to be one of those sensational Moutons made from extraordinarily ripe Cabernet Sauvignon, the key at this estate to wines of remarkable volume and mass. It offers a profoundly deep purple color, followed by a knock-out bouquet of jammy blackcurrants, coconut, coffeecake, and smoke. This staggeringly rich, low acid Mouton is enormously rich and chewy, with layers of concentrated fruit, in addition to being extremely pure, exceptionally concentrated, and amazingly silky and sweet. According to cellarmaster Michel Bosq, the 1995's tannin level is similar to such great Moutons as 1986, 1982, and 1961. To put this effort into another context, consider what readers might taste if there were a hypothetical blend of 50% of the 1982, 25% of the 1986, and 25% of the 1985. Such a blend might provide an inkling of just what Mouton has achieved in 1995. Mouton-Rothschild has a tendency to be extremely showy for three or four years and then go into a shell (the 1982 and 1986, after their flamboyant early years, are now forbiddingly backward). My instincts suggest this wine will be utterly profound for another 5-6 years and then shut down for about 20 years thereafter. It is certainly a Mouton that will last for 30 years.