Wine Advisor
Le Petit Mouton 2006
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at Southwold ’06 Bordeaux tasting. This is a gem of a Le Petit Mouton, possibly the best ever. A fragrant bouquet: blackberry, damson, graphite, cedar and a touch of earth all; very well defined and agreeably austere. The palate is medium-bodied, firm tannins, very well balanced and great purity. Very charming, almost super-Tuscan in style (that is meant as a complement.) Suave and sensuous, caressing on the finish. Tasted January 2010.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Mouton Rothschild. This is actually one of the best Petit Mouton I have tasted in recent years. An attractive nose of black cherries, liquorish and a touch of wine gums. The palate displays firm tannins, a little more muscular than recent vintages with a cedar-infused mid-palate. There is slight charcoal element on the back palate, but I like the succulent, rounded finish. Fine. Tasted April 2007.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at Farr Vintners horizontal, the 2006 Le Petit Mouton was a bit of a revelation. It displays more intense red fruit compared to its Pauillac peers with pencil shavings littered over raspberry and strawberry. There is such an infectious sense of joie-de-vivre here. The palate is medium-bodied with fine definition, crisp and tensile with good weight, showing fine elegance with a long, lightly spiced finish that does not seem to go dissipate after a minute. This seems to be blossoming in bottle, though my fear is that many will have already been consumed! Tasted April 2016.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 2006 Le Petit Mouton is the finest example of this cuvee I have yet tasted. A combination of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, and 14% Merlot, its dark ruby/purple color is followed by a wine with sweet tannins, an up-front, precocious personality, loads of fruit and exuberance, and a slightly flamboyant style that gives it considerable sensual appeal. It should drink beautifully for 15 or more years. Ever since owner Philippine de Rothschild put Philippe Dalhuin in charge at Mouton in 2004 there has been a dramatic reduction in the amount of wine produced under the Mouton Rothschild label. The selection process has been ratcheted up to the level of other first-growths, and that is reflected in what is clearly the greatest Mouton produced since 1982 and 1986. As I indicated in my barrel tasting notes, only 44% of the crop made it into the 2006 grand vin, which is the lowest percentage in more than fifty years. The final blend includes a high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (87%) and the rest Merlot (13%). No Cabernet Franc was utilized in 2006, and purchasers will have a long wait until this wine reaches full maturity. Keep in mind that, where well-stored, the 1986 currently tastes like a 4-5 year old wine, and the 1982 is just beginning to enter early adolescence. If you extrapolate from that, the 2006 will need at least twenty years to reach a teen-age status, and probably will not hit its plateau of maturity for three decades.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Mouton-Rothschild. The nose is undoubtedly more refined than the 2007 with superb clarity, very elegant with pure black cherries, a hint of tinned date, liquorices and damson. Great lift and vivacity and becoming more and more opulent in the glass (especially compared to the 2007.) The palate is medium-bodied, building nicely in the glass with notes of blackberry and cedar on the entry, very well-knit tannins though still with some unresolved oak, all leading to a lovely, slightly raisin/Xmas cake tinged finish. This really is a fine Le Petit Mouton...perhaps not so Petit as it once was. Drink 2010-2016. Tasted September 2008.
About the Producer
The history of Château Mouton Rothschild dates back to the mid-19th century when Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild purchased the estate in Pauillac, a commune in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France. The estate's vineyards were already well-established at the time, but Rothschild invested heavily in modernizing and expanding the winery, including building new cellars and importing new grape varieties. Le Petit Mouton, which translates to "The Little Sheep" in English, is a second wine produced by Château Mouton Rothschild. Second wines are made from grapes that come from younger vines or from less prestigious vineyard parcels than the grand vin, the top wine produced by the winery. Le Petit Mouton was first introduced in 1993 as a way to showcase the quality of the estate's younger vines and to create a more accessible wine that could be enjoyed earlier than the grand vin, which typically requires several years of aging. Since its introduction, Le Petit Mouton has become a highly regarded wine in its own right, known for its rich flavors, elegant structure, and approachability. The wine is made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot grapes, and is aged in French oak barrels for around 16 months before bottling. The label features a whimsical illustration of a little sheep, a nod to the wine's name and to the estate's long history of using animal motifs on its labels.
1994(1)1996(2)2003(1)2005(4)
Package Size
