2000- MOUTON ROTHSCHILD

97 points Wine Enthusiast

 With its distinctive antique bottle and gold etched label dominated by a sheep, this is definitely a move away from classic Bordeaux bottling. It is good that the wine can support the presentation. The fruit is so ripe, it almost tastes of raisins, but that sweetness is finely balanced by the dry tannins and concentrated texture. To finish, there are exotic spices, giving an almost oriental character to the long aftertaste.

96 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

 Perhaps the most beautiful packaging ever on a Bordeaux bottle, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild literally produced a work of art in the gold-engraved bottle of 2000 Mouton Rothschild. Of course, one can’t drink the glass, but this is a top-flight Mouton Rothschild, eclipsed only by the 2006 and 2009. A rich, tannic, earthy style, with loads of creme de cassis and floral notes, the final blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot is a full-bodied wine with plenty of coffee, earth, chocolatey notes, and still plenty of tannin to resolve. I gave it an anticipated maturity range of 2015-2050 back in 2003, and that looks on target. 96+ points. (RP)

95 points Vinous

 Bright deep ruby with the barest hint of garnet; still very youthful. Enticing, complex nose of cassis, smoky cedar, violet, underbrush and kirsch; very Pauillac, if in a ripe style. Dense, rich and suave in the mouth, with lively acidity nicely framing the rich flavors of blackcurrant, blackberry jam, milk chocolate, grilled bread and spicy underbrush. Finishes with noble tannins and outstanding chocolatey persistence. A great Mouton and much better than another recently tasted bottle that had shown some signs of premature evolution. Though this wine comes across as quite smoky and chocolatey, Tourbier points out that Mouton has been using barrels with a medium or medium-plus toast since 1994 (more heavily charred barrels were used here from 1989 through 1993). The excellent millennium vintage featured a hot and humid year characterized by a very large crop and a fairly rainy first part of the year, but a very dry and warm second half resulted in considerable hydric stress (especially on the Right Bank.)