Tender tannins, grilled cedar, gunsmoke and cigar box welcoming you in. The fruits are raspberry puree, black cherry layered with smoked caramel, rose petals and violet, spralling out of the glass, waves of flavour alongside crushed rock minerality. This is so well judged, showcasing how in the less 'perfect' vintages the First Growths really earn their stripes. Excellent quality, and as is signature with the vintage, will be ready earlier than the more concentrated years. Harvest October 1 to 15, with just under half of the overall production in the 1st wine. 100% new oak for ageing.

This is a beautifully opulent wine, great Mouton in its richness and succulent fruits. It’s combines structure and obvious new-wood aging with hugely ripe black plum and currant flavors. While it is a pleasure to taste now, there is a great tannic structure in the background to give the sense of power and aging potential. Drink from 2024.

Deep ruby in color, with secondary aromas already peeking out of the perfume with its truffle, tobacco, leaf, cedar wood, vanilla, cassis, blackberry and peppery nose. Full bodied, lush and velvety, with a long, palate caressing finish, this is another winner in a long line of wines for Philippe Dhalluin. Made from a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the grapes were picked on the late side from October 1 to October 15. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/search-wine-tasting-notes/?szSearch=2012+Ch%C3%A2teau+Mouton+Rothschild

Tasted at the Mouton-Rothschild vertical in London, the 2012 Mouton-Rothschild clearly has the upper hand over the 2011, if not quite at the level of the 2009, 2010 and what I envisage will be the 2015. There is obviously greater fruit intensity here, as if the contrast has been dialed up a couple of notches. It is quite showy on the nose, preening in its infancy with pure black cherries, graphite and hints of cold slate-like scents, later that hint of seaweed I observed when tasted blind a few months earlier. The palate is beautifully balanced with great vim and vigor. This is a Mouton that will not be put down - vivacious, vivid and delineated with wonderful focus and crucially, impressive persistence on the finish. Do not underestimate this Mouton-Rothschild, because I can see an upswing as it matures in bottle. Tasted April 2016. - Neal Martin

Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2012 Mouton Rothschild gallops out with bold, energetic notes of warm cassis, blackberry preserves, and sandalwood, leading to hints of underbrush, charcuterie, and cedar chest. Medium-bodied, the palate has a taut structure of grainy tannins and seamless freshness supporting the muscular fruit, finishing very long and lifted.

The 2012 Mouton-Rothschild is an excellent wine for the vintage. Copious blackberry and blueberry fruits burst from the glass with incense and crushed violet scents, beautifully defined and perhaps even "audacious" for the growing season. The palate is "glossy" when compared directly to the other First Growth, yet there is brilliant delineation with a sense of tension on the finish. It's a vivid and almost brash Mouton-Rothschild, but quite compelling. Tasted blind in Bordeaux. -- Neal Martin

This is starting to mellow already, featuring dark fig and blackberry notes infused liberally with black tea and smoldering tobacco accents. Shows a light loamy echo through the finish, with a flash of menthol. Offers ample flesh throughout, with a slightly grainy edge to the tannins.--Non-blind Mouton-Rothschild vertical (March 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040. — JM