Provenance

Wine Cellar Private Client

Critics Ratings

The 1988 Mouton-Rothschild is a vintage that I have not tasted for several years (although it was a regular fixture during the 2000s). It is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot. Showing some signs of bricking on the rim, it has certainly matured with a little more alacrity in the last few years, fully mature with blackberry, freshly rolled tobacco, sandalwood and mint. To be frank, it does not put a distance between itself and its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin: soy-tinged black fruit, foursquare with a sharp tang of spice towards the linear finish. It feels conservative and correct, although it does not give the delineation and precision that I feel that Philippe Dhalluin has imparted in recent vintages. Tasted at the château.' - Neal Martin Vinous.com 89/100 (2018)

'Nuanced ruby colour. Dense, spicy, exotic nose with definite ingredient X. Not rich but very pure and very Mouton with its grace notes of warm flint stones. Long and nuanced. Really appetising and aristocratic.' - Jancis Robinson Jancisrobinson.com 18.5/20 (2018)