2002 Château Mouton-Rothschild | DMG

The 2002 Mouton-Rothschild, which was made by the late Patrick Leon, has a well-defined bouquet with pretty blackberry and graphite scents, quite precise and focused. This has matured well in bottle. The palate is medium-bodied with a cohesive entry, youthful, not amazingly complex and perhaps towards the end the limitations of the growing season impinge upon complexity. A touch of dark chocolate on the aftertaste. I would drink this over the next 10 to 15 years. Very fine. Tasted at the château.

- Neal Martin (04/2022)

This shows cigar box, cedar, cassis as well as blackberries and some earth on the nose. It's full-bodied with dense fruit, soft tannins and a long and intense finish. Not bad for 2002. Enjoyable now but with lots of bottle age to come.

- (03/2015)

The 2002 from Mouton-Rothschild - with a mesmerising label by Ukrainian artist Ilya Kabakov - is a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. It presents a rather loose rim which perhaps betrays the nature of the vintage, which was one of the last to be vinified by the late Patrick Léon before he retired from working at Mouton. Like many 2002s, though, this impresses with the lift of its aromatics, with classical veins of tobacco, juniper berry, mint and rosemary. The palate is surprisingly textural for the vintage, and it has plenty of energy too. There is a fluid structure too it, appearing to be mature and fairly resolved, with softly interwoven blackcurrant and leather, the style supple and yet bright. Long and driven in the finish, this is a fine result for a 2002. Poured from standard bottle.

- Chris Kissack (11/2025)

Complex aromas of tobacco, cedar, berry and currants. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and ripe tannins. Not as good as a barrel sample tasted earlier, but still outstanding for the vintage. Best after 2009.

- (03/2005)

Tasted blind as a vintage comparison at the Valandraud vertical, the 2002 Mouton-Rothschild is a wine that burned brightly in its youth, though recent encounters suggest that maybe it is beginning to flag as it enters what you might call middle age. Here, it has a conservative bouquet with blackberry, cedar, warm bricks and melted tar aromas - an unfussy, uncomplicated, quite serious Pauillac bouquet. The palate is well balanced with crisp acidity. It feels lively on the entry with fine tannin, a Mouton that is nimble on its feet with a gentle grip towards the finish, which offers a satisfying aftertaste of spice and clove. It does not mirror some of the outstanding bottles I consumed within the first decade of its life, and peering into this First Growth, it is difficult to see whether it will repay those who cellar it longer. 

- Neal Martin (03/2017)