Mouton Rothschild 1986
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Mouton Rothschild 1986
HED0615
75 cl
12.5%
£900.00
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The 1986 vintage in Bordeaux was heralded as exceptional and the grand vin of Château Mouton-Rothschild is one of their finest ever releases, earning it a perfect 100-point score from The Wine Advocate on at least 4 separate occasions. It is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.
100 Vinous
As it nears 40 years in age, the 1986 Mouton-Rothschild is acquiescing to time, those huge tannins polymerising as primary fruit evolves into secondary. The nose is a cornucopia of scents—blackberry, cedar, mint and freshly picked violet—all delivered with equal precocity and control. This is the first time that this Mouton-Rothschild has conveyed a more melted texture on the palate. There remains immense grip, but all those angles and edges have been smoothed into velvet. It has amazing depth, unfurling layers of predominantly black fruit, blueberry and graphite before it dovetails into a sumptuous yet still aristocratic finish. The 1986 feels like a well-behaved 1982 Mouton, less hedonistic, a little more statesmanlike. In general, the 1986s are a bit forgotten, sometimes dismissed simply because they were predestined to evolve so slowly. But the best examples are delivering for those with patience. The 1986 Mouton-Rothschild is the best of them all. Neal Martin29th December 2025
100 Jancis Robinson
After stumbling over some wines I thought were high class Bordeaux, I nailed this wine in one of the blind tastings for this article. In most tastings where a great Bordeaux is inserted with California Cabernets, the Bordeaux comes across as drier, more austere, and not nearly as rich and concentrated (California wines are inevitably fruitier and more massive). To put it mildly, the 1986 Mouton-Rothschild held its own (and then some), in a flight that included the Caymus Special Selection, Stags Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23, Dunn Howell Mountain, and Joseph Phelps Eisele Vineyard. Clearly the youngest looking, most opaque and concentrated wine of the group, it tastes as if it has not budged in development since I first tasted it out of barrel in March, 1987. An enormously concentrated, massive Mouton-Rothschild, comparable in quality, but not style, to the 1982, 1959, and 1945, this impeccably made wine is still in its infancy. Interestingly, when I was in Bordeaux several years ago, I had this wine served to me blind from a magnum that had been opened and decanted 48 hours previously. Even then, it still tasted like a barrel sample! I suspect the 1986 Mouton-Rothschild requires a minimum of 15-20 more years of cellaring; it has the potential to last for 50-100 years! Given the outrageously high prices being fetched by so many of the great 1982s and 1990s (and lest I forget, the 1995 Bordeaux futures), it appears this wine might still be one of the "relative bargains" in the fine wine marketplace. I wonder how many readers will be in shape to drink it when it does finally reach full maturity?
The tasting notes for this section are from two single blind tastings, one conducted in May, 1996, in California, and the other in June, 1996, in Baltimore.Robert Parker31st August 1996
The tasting notes for this section are from two single blind tastings, one conducted in May, 1996, in California, and the other in June, 1996, in Baltimore.Robert Parker31st August 1996
98 Jane Anson
Rightly seen as one of the all-time great vintages at Chateau Mouton Rothschild, after a vintage that favoured Cabernet Sauvignon and a harvest that stretched from October 2 to 16, so late and leisurely. One of those years that winemakers dream about - with quality and quantity. Crops came in at around 15% higher than in 1985, which itself was a pretty abundant year, and 1986 turned out to be the biggest crop since World War Two. Powerful, concentrated, still very much in its drinking window almost 40 years old, tannins now melted and resolved but going nowhere, and this brambled, cassis and blackberry fruit is just so inviting, sliced through with liqourice, espresso and crushed mint leaf. This is a wine that still, even now, benefits from an extremely long carafe - on a recent tasting a few years ago, when it wasn't quite showing up to expectations, it took a full 24 hours to suddenly burst out of the glass and show its brilliance. So my strong advice is that if you are not blown away immediately, put it to one side and come back, because this is magic in a bottle.Jane Anson21st February 2025
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Chateau Mouton Rothschild
Wine as Art
The prestigious Château Mouton Rothschild estate is home to the world-renowned First Growth of the same name, in addition to a second red wine, Petit Mouton and a white wine, made in smaller quantities, known as L'Aile d'Argent. Established in 1853 by Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, the Château pioneered the idea of bottling their own wine in the 1920s while other properties were still selling and exporting in barrel. A Second Growth until 1972, the winery was officially elevated to the high rank of Bordeaux classification in 1973 after much campaigning by the famous Baron Philippe de Rothschild.
Cabernet Sauvignon that takes pride of place in the wines of Mouton Rothschild, with smaller percentages of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Cabernet Sauvignon always predominates in the Mouton red, giving the wine its rich tannins, wealth of aroma, flavour and superb ageing capacity. Meanwhile Merlot, an inseparable companion, brings suppleness, roundness and exceptional length.
