2016 Petit Mouton

95 POINTS

Yves Beck - Yvesbeck.wine

Rouge grenat aux reflets violets. Cela ne fait pas l'ombre d'un doute, le Petit Mouton est le petit frère de Mouton Rothschild et il s'inspire de lui avec brio. Le grand frère ayant fait quelques bêtises avant lui, le Petit peut se contenter de profiter du chemin tracé. Il révèle beaucoup de fraîcheur, beaucoup de fruit et reflète parfaitement le terroir. Au palais, le vin est dense, doté de tannins précis et d'une structure qui confère de la race ainsi que du jus. Ce Petit Mouton est exceptionnel. 2022-2041 95/100

95 POINTS

James Suckling

Deep and dark berry aromas with a center of cedar and tobacco. Full-bodied, tannic and rich with a solid backbone and excellent structure. Plenty of fruit and flavor. It goes on for minutes. One hell of a second wine for Mouton. Try after 2025.

95 POINTS

Bettane & Desseauve - Bettane & Desseauve

Coloré et d’une grande générosité de fruit et de texture. La longueur n’est pas encore tout à fait au niveau de cette texture mais les progrès sont ici encore considérables et laissent imaginer dans les prochaines années un vin rivalisant avec les grands cinquièmes crus classés de l’appellation.

94 POINTS

Jeff Leve - The Wine Cellar Insider

Showing a deep ruby color, the wine is silky, polished, rich and full bodied. There is a freshness and volume here, giving you a luscious texture and length on the palate, with ripe, sweet, berries and soft, silky tannins. It’s hard to believe this is only a second wine . With an uncommonly high percentage of Merlot in the blend, this wine was made using 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc and reached 13.3% alcohol. 93 – 95 PtsRead more at:http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/2017/04/2016-pauillac-tasting-notes-ratings-best-pauillac-wines-ever/

94 POINTS

Jeb Dunnuck

In the running for the best second wine, the 2016 Le Petit Mouton de Mouton stands firmly on its own two feet and offers beautiful, classic Pauillac notes of crème de cassis, graphite, tobacco leaf, and lead pencil shavings. Surpassing most grand vins, this rich, flamboyant effort is full-bodied and mouthfilling, with good acidity and thrilling amounts of fruit. A blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, brought up in 50% new French oak, it’s going to keep for 2-3 decades.

94 POINTS

Antonio Galloni MW - Vinous

The 2016 Le Petit-Mouton is a wine of total precision and class. Bright floral notes lift the red berry fruit beautifully. Medium in body, with incredible persistence and exceptional poise, the 2016 Petit Mouton is sublime. Blood orange, mint and chalky notes further nuances of freshness throughout. The 2016 is all class.

93 POINTS

Neal Martin - Wine Advocate

The 2016 Le Petit Mouton is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc; it will be matured in 45% new oak, a little lower than in previous year (it used to be 60%). It has around 13.3% alcohol. It has a clean and precise bouquet with black berry, pencil shavings, crushed violet and a touch of oyster shell. The palate is medium-bodied with supple and ripe tannin, very harmonious and blessed with a satin-like texture. It is a more understated Le Petit Mouton, but you almost miss the precision and detail, the mineralité on the linear finish. This has great potential thanks to the sheer quality of the tannins here.

93 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Wine Advocate

The 2016 Le Petit Mouton is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. It has a deep garnet-purple color and gives up an intensely plummy nose with cigar box and fallen leaves scents leading to aroma layers of kirsch, red and black currants and tilled soil. Medium-bodied with a racy line of freshness cutting through the muscular fruit and a good, firm frame of grainy tannins to support, it finishes on a lingering menthol note.