This is surprisingly full-bodied and round, reflecting the warmth and sunny exposure of the vineyard around the chateau. Tangy and vivid with currants, fresh flowers and plenty of energy and length. Delicate yet ripe. 77% cabernet sauvignon, 19.5% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 0.5% petit verdot. Needs two or three years to come together completely. Drink after 2027.

(JL 92-94 points) Cigar box, tobacco leaf, smoke, cedar, wet earth and dark red fruits come through in the nose. On the palate, the wine offers supple, polished, fresh, sweet, dark red berries. The fruit in the end is equally vibrant and sweet. The wine blends 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19.5% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and a dollop of Petit Verdot to spice things up. 13% ABV. Drink from 2024-2045.

The second wine of this great château, the 2021 Le Petit Mouton De Mouton Rothschild offers up a mini-Mouton-like nose of pure cassis, graphite, and spicy oak and hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a deep, layered mid-palate, plenty of fruit and richness, and almost velvety tannins. Based on 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, aged in 50% new barrels, this textured, focused, impressively concentrated 2021 will benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age (which is rare for a second wine) and cruise for 10-15+ years in cold cellars.

Beautifully fragrant strawberries and red cherries, just so perfumed and appealing, really a very lovely nose drawing you in. An excellent Petit Mouton in 2021; serious intensity here but also such a liveliness as well as creaminess. It has weight and layers while having fruit intensity and a core of aromatics. There's a softness and delicacy in terms of the tannins and frame - beguiling - but a real base of concentrated blue, red and black fruits - strawberries, red cherries and blackcurrants. You get the stony tones and the clove on the finish but this feels round, expansive and approachable. It's uber glamorous, still with freshness and lift. A gorgeous wine with lots going on! 0.5% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.73pH. 14% press wine.

A more classical Petit Mouton than in recent vintages but it delivers Pauillac typicity coupled with grilled blackberry and rapsberry fruits, and the velvety tannins typical of this wine. Has a more serious side than in many vintages, but it doesn't lose that happy swagger and gourmet black chocolate and liqourice character. Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy director, yields relatively normal, after no mildew. One of the few don't miss 2nd wines of the year, and one that will be ready to drink within 4 to 6 years. 50% new oak.

The 2021 Le Petit-Mouton is a bit slender and reserved in this vintage, but very fine nonetheless. All the elements are nicely balanced. Dried herbs, orange peel, mint, pine, cinnamon and new leather open with a bit of coaxing. I would give this a few years to soften. The Cabernet Sauvignon imprint is quite strong today. -- Antonio Galloni

The 2021 Le Petit Mouton wafts from the glass with rich aromas of dark berries, cherries and cassis mingled with licorice, mint and dark chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, it's dense and velvety, with sweet tannins and a long, expansive finish. As readers may remember, since Mouton-Rothschild itself this year derives exclusively from the two plateaus that always make up the core of the blend, the Petit Mouton benefits from the inclusion of parcels that often make it into the grand vin. - William Kelley