2024 Baron Philippe de Rothschild Portfolio Releases – En Primeur

Tomorrow sees the release of the 2024 Baron Philippe de Rothschild Portfolio, including Mouton Rothschild, Clerc Milon, d’Armailhac, Le Petit Mouton and Aile d’Argent.

2024 Château Mouton Rothschild (1er Cru Pauillac)

93 Cabernet Sauvignon, 7 Merlot: 100% new oak for 18 months: 12.9% alc: 3.79 pH: Harvested between 23 September and 5 October

This wine is Technical Director Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy’s sixth Mouton vintage, and it is also the 100th year since this estate introduced the concept of an artist label.  Jean explained that while the heart of this wine is made from very much the same components as last year’s stunning creation, other plots came up smelling of roses in 2024, and so they made the grade, too!   The result is solid, structured and more densely packed wine than many in 2024.   While this feels like an atypical stance in this vintage, this wine is borne of very small berries, and these conspire with the oak tones to bring fascinating coffee and mocha notes alongside glorious exoticism before the firm, commanding finish takes hold.  There is considerable opulence here, and while it is unmistakably Mouton and, in common with other great wines, has a unique sense of place, it still manages to show the thrilling power and upholstery that makes this Château so famous.  Despite the scale of flavour and impact, nothing appears out of place or over the top.  In 2024, Le Petit Mouton did a brilliant job of playing a respectful supporting actor while leaving the finest fruit and best lines for the superstar to enjoy.   19+/20

2024 Château Clerc Milon (5ème Cru Pauillac)

66 Cabernet Sauvignon, 24 Merlot, 8 Cabernet Franc, 1 Carmenère, 1 Petit Verdot: 55% new oak for 18 months: 13% alc: 3.72 pH: Harvested between 24 September and 6 October

Oaky spiciness sits atop this wine while the fruit billows behind.  This is a classical colonnade of Cabernet, with boughs of Merlot strung between them.  Cabernet Franc adds floral hints, and the Carmenère and Petit Verdot, a chef’s flourish.  The tannins are dry and powerful, and this mighty wine needs time.  Clerc Milon has been eyeing a step up to the next rung of greatness for a while, and with perfect extraction and a fresh, dynamic alcohol level, this is a definitive classical and yet modern Clerc Milon, which is bound to live for two decades if it is granted permission.   18+/20

2024 Château d’Armailhac (5ème Cru Pauillac)

72 Cabernet Sauvignon, 14 Merlot, 14 Cabernet Franc: 50% new oak for 18 months: 12.9% alc: 3.69 pH: Harvested between 25 September and 8 October

While yields were a little lower here than hoped for, this is because the berry weights are down due to the water deficit.   And while there was a moderate risk of mildew at harvest, the steady pace of picking, without any real breaks, led to d’Armailhac staying ahead of the game and bringing in excellent quality, fit fruit.  Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy described the flavour of his suite of wines as having “no baby fat”, and I agree, but in the absence of overt fleshiness, there is a linear, toned appeal that sings in this wine.  D’Armailhac has a relatively high percentage of Cabernet in the blend, straightening up the flavour and bringing superb, cassis-driven momentum to this wine.  It is open, honest, and has nothing to hide; the acidity appears firm but not drying, and the sentry-like tannins will inevitably melt during élévage.  This is a deliciously indulgent, smooth and clean, with lattice-like Merlot and Cabernet Franc evenly distributed from the tip to the tail. In a word, it is gourmand.  18/20

2024 Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild (second wine of Mouton Rothschild)

67 Cabernet Sauvignon, 26 Merlot, 5 Cabernet Franc, 2 Petit Verdot: 50% new oak for 18 months: 13.0% alc: 3.62 pH; Harvested between 23 September and 5 October

Technical Director Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy informed me of the importance of a frustrating six-week period while the grapes underwent veraison on this wine.  A quick glance at the harvested bunches would hoodwink anyone into thinking the bunches were ripe, but while the colour was uniform, the proper ripeness of each berry was anything but!  Some grapes, those who turned first, were perfect, while others, masquerading as ripe, were sour and harsh!  This called for the water bath (Delta Densilys)!  Destemmed grapes were dropped into this bath full of sugared water.  The density of the water, determined by its sugar content, allowed some grapes to float while others sank.  Those that sank were of the perfect density and, therefore, ripeness.  The floaters were sent off, never to be seen again.  Some 40% was eliminated from the lesser blocks, and even the finest plots sacrificed 10-14% of their yields, significantly improving the wine quality.  You only have to consider what might have happened if 10, 20, or 30% of unripe grapes (perhaps containing only 6% of potential alcohol) remained in the fermentations!  This low-tech invention was trialled in 2017, and it came into its own in this vintage, with a few estates happy to confirm they rented or even acquired this piece of kit!  Being able to vinify this wine carefully and with great accuracy has meant that Le Petit Mouton shows uncommon plushness and fruit weight, and coupled with this vintage’s trademark freshness, it is an amazingly detailed wine.  While no one wants uniformity, eliminating unknown extremes is a very comforting skill.   After all, wine is all about nuance, and Clerc Milon embraces violets, berries, and even unexpected hints of exoticism.  Chapeau.  18+/20

2024 Aile d’Argent (Blanc de Mouton Rothschild)

54.5 Sauvignon Blanc, 33 Semillon, 12.5 Sauvignon Gris: 45% new oak for 9 months: 12.8% alc: 3.05 pH: 6.5% malolactic fermentation: Harvested between 9 and 20 September

Firm, commanding and most definitely grand, more battonage was employed than usual in this vintage because the lees were spectacular, and this technique has imbued fabulous depth and variety in the flavours held within.  With a white and yellow, as opposed to a pink and orange theme, this is a stunning wine with a presence in the glass that summons up mental images or the various Montrachets!  As the flavour develops at pace, gathering gravitas as it goes, there are neon green highlights, arresting minerality, and even discreet Asian teas and spice nuances.  This is a stunning Aile d’Argent and a landmark vintage for this wine.  19+/20

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MATTHEW JUKES SCORE CONVERSION CHART

As a wine taster and writer, I prefer you to read my words rather than focus on my scores.  This is why I rarely score wines unless I write an extensive report like this one.  I believe that scores taken from the context of tasting notes are essentially meaningless.  I describe my featured wines fully so you can imagine the aroma, shape, and flavour.  Scores don’t help with this.  You will know that several different scoring methods are used in the global wine trade.  Most of my wine-writing colleagues have been tempted to the dark side, using the 100-point rating system.  A few, usually older types, cling to the venerable five-star rating.  As you know, I favour the 20-point score.  It’s how I was taught and dovetails nicely with how I judge wines.  For those unfamiliar with the 20-point scoring system, here is a table that translates it into various other formats.

AND THERE IS MORE – Every year, when I write my Burgundy En Primeur Report, I select only the Rapport Qualité Prix (which I shorten to QP) wines that represent stunning quality and accuracy combined with fair pricing. It is these wines I make a fuss about, and I am extremely strict about only featuring the very most important of the campaign.  Fair pricing is a commodity that has avoided Bordeaux for many years, causing global consternation and, in most cases, a tacit boycott of many of the wines. If wines are released with timid reductions this year or come out with more expensive pricing than any comparable bottled wines already on the market, then I regard this as a miss.  So, for the first time, I will add QP accreditation to my very favourite Bordeaux En Primeur wines. Suppose these wines are released at appropriate prices (which I deem to be in the 30% reduction compared to last year’s prices, and somewhere along the pricing of the 2014s for the most expensive wines). In that case, you should seriously consider buying them.  Remember that lower-priced wines cannot possibly reduce their prices by tens of percentage points because of ever-rising costs.  Bordeaux is a multichannel region, and it must work together across all price points to entice collectors back to the market.  There ought to be fascinating wines available at all prices in 2024.