🍷 Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild

Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild is a line of Château Mouton Rothschild (red AOC Pauillac wine); years on this site: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995.

According to the house, it is the second wine of Château Mouton Rothschild, made from younger vines of the same vineyard; the first vintage was 1993.

Château Mouton Rothschild is a Pauillac estate in the Médoc, owned by the Rothschild family since 1853; known for labels illustrated by artists since 1945, a first growth since 1973.

Pauillac is a controlled designation of origin (AOC; in EU terms a PDO) on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, 50 km north of Bordeaux, in the centre of the Médoc peninsula; it was first recognised by the decree of 14 November 1936. The designation is reserved for still red wines. The area is the commune of Pauillac plus listed parcels in Saint-Estèphe, Saint-Julien-Beychevelle and Saint-Sauveur. Six varieties are allowed: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Cot (Malbec), Merlot and Petit Verdot. Vines must be planted at no fewer than 7,000 per hectare, the yield is 57 hl/ha (ceiling 63 hl/ha), the natural strength at least 11 %, and after enrichment the wine may not exceed 13.5 %.

Under the AOC Pauillac rules, the wine is matured at least until 1 June of the year after the harvest; it may not be bottled before that date, and it may be sold to consumers only from 1 September of that year. The finished wine may contain no more than 2 g of sugars per litre and no more than 0.3 g of malic acid, which means it has gone through malolactic fermentation. Grapes do not count as ripe if the must holds less than 189 g of sugar per litre for Merlot and 180 g for the other varieties. The appellation is a rule of origin and production, not a verdict on taste.

Under EU rules, a wine label must show the designation of origin, the actual alcoholic strength, allergens such as sulphites, and the name of the bottler. A harvest year on the label means the wine is made from grapes of that year.

Why it matters to you. The appellation on the label tells you where the grapes come from and under which rules the wine was made; in Bordeaux the blend and the harvest dates change every year, so different years of the same château are different wines. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol. The year on the label is the harvest year.