Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2023

The Land

In 1855, Mouton was ranked a second growth, and it took 118 years of lobbying to change that: in 1973 it became the only estate ever moved up a rank in the 1855 classification. The vineyard lies in northern Pauillac on a series of low gravel hillocks, generally under 40 meters, separated by lower ground. The soil is thin and poor, stones and pebbles mixed with sand and some clay, running several meters down to a clay-limestone base. That is exactly why Cabernet Sauvignon, first planted here in the early 19th century, does so well. The stones hold daytime heat, the gentle slopes drain and catch sun, and roots driven deep for water give the wine its concentration and grip. Neighbors include Lafite to the north and Pontet-Canet across the road.

The Wine

Château Mouton Rothschild 2023 is 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Merlot. A mild, rainy winter refilled soils left dry by 2022. June set a temperature record for the station going back to 1962, and the year overall ranks among the warmest on record, with two heat waves around the turn of August and September. Picking ran September 7 to 30, alternating hot, sunny days with storms before an ideal final week. Grapes are hand-picked into open baskets, hand-sorted on vibrating tables, and moved by gravity into the estate's oak vats before roughly 20 months in new oak barrels, with egg-white fining. Blackberry and blackcurrant, pastry and dark chocolate in the aromatics, then graphite and smoke, powerful fine-grained tannin, and a long finish of roasted hazelnut and cocoa.

The People

Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild bought the estate in 1853, but Mouton's modern identity belongs to Baron Philippe, who took charge in 1922. In 1924 he made Mouton one of the first Bordeaux estates to bottle its entire crop at the château, and from 1945 he commissioned an artist to illustrate each vintage's label. Braque, Miró, Chagall, Picasso, Warhol and Bacon followed. His daughter Philippine ran Mouton from 1988 to 2014; her children Camille and Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild own it today. The 2023 label is "Paraíso" by Joana Vasconcelos, the first Portuguese artist in the series, known for monumental installations built from embroidery and crochet. Her drawing centers on a grape cluster framed by earth, water, sun and night, with the apex of a triangle for the human hand.

Food Pairing

Do what Pauillac does: a thick côte de boeuf grilled over vine cuttings, sliced and salted at the table, where the Cabernet tannin locks onto the char. Roast leg of lamb studded with garlic and rosemary, served with flageolet beans, is the other local classic, the herbs meeting the wine's graphite side. Beef Wellington with a mushroom duxelles gives the cocoa and hazelnut something rich to meet. For a quieter finish, a wedge of aged Mimolette brings salt and nuttiness that sharpen the fruit. Pauillac first growths are built for decades, so this is the bottle for a child's birth year or a milestone anniversary, opened when the occasion finally arrives.