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Cabernet Sauvignon:
Despite being so prominent in the winemaking industry, the origins of this variety were shady up until the 1990s. Prior to this, many felt that the variety was ancient origin – perhaps even the Biturcia grape used to make ancient Roman wine. However, these romanticised and altogether dubious origins were placed on the shelf when DNA typing, undertaken by the UC David Department of Viticulture and Enology, determined that Cabernet Sauvignon was the offspring of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc – most probably due to a chance crossing in the 17th century.

Cabernet Sauvignon can grow in various different climates and soil types – in fact the wine usually gives a sense of the terroir in the taste. Naturally prone to vigorous yields, winemakers must be careful not to compromise the quality of the wine. Practices such as using less vigorous rootstock, green harvesting and aggressive pruning of grape clusters ensure lower yields.

This variety is most famously found in Bordeaux blends and thrives on the gravelly soils of the Medoc, being both well drained whilst also radiating heat to the vines. However, internationally varietals are very common – especially in warmer climates.

Merlot:
Used for both blending and varietal wines, Merlot is the foremost grape in the Bordeaux. Merlot wines usually have a medium body with hints of berry, plum and currant. Its softness and fleshiness, combined with earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, with its higher tannin levels. Its name comes from the Occitan word “merlot” which means “young blackbird” – a nod towards the grape’s beautiful dark-blue colour. An offspring of Cabernet Franc (and therefore a sibling of Cabernet Sauvignon), it was first mentioned in 1784 where a labelled wine made from the grape attracted praise from all quarters.

The grape can easily be identified by its loose bunches of large, plump grapes. The colour is less or a blue/black hue than Cabernet Sauvignon and it has a thinner skin, with correspondingly fewer tannins. Pruning has a massive impact on the outcome of the wine, with reduced yields giving higher quality wine. Merlot has a propensity to quickly over ripen after hitting its initial ripeness level, sometimes in a matter of a few days. The renowned Chateau Petrus favours early picking to ensure acidity and ageing potential, while other growers favour late picking and the added fruitiness that comes with the additional ripeness of the fruit.

Merlot is now the most commonly grown grape in France, which claims two thirds of the world’s total Merlot cultivation.



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Chateau Mouton Rothschild, owned by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and her children, is regarded as one of the world’s greatest wines.

The story of Mouton is that of a magical combination of soil, climate and the devotion of one man, Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988), Baroness Philippine’s father.

In 1853, Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, From the English branch of the family, bought Chateau Brane-Mouton and immediately renamed it Chateau Mouton Rothschild.

Despite the excellence of the estate, however, no member of the family took any real interest in it until 1922 when the 20-year old Baron Philippe, enchanted by the charm and beautiful setting of the chateau, decided to devote his life to it.

From the outset, his ambition was to make Mouton unique, producing the very best wine. His 65 years at Mouton bear witness to the strength of his personality, his spirit of enterprise and his sense of innovation.

In 1924, he was the first to introduce entire chateau bottling, a practice hitherto unheard of, which demonstrated the owner’s assumption of greater responsibility.

In 1926, he built the famous Grand Chai, the majestic 100-metre barrel hall which is still an outstanding feature of Mouton. In 1945, to celebrate the liberation of France, Baron Philippe had the imaginative idea of crowning the label for that year’s vintage with a suitable design. It was the “V” for victory, the first in a long line of original works of art created for each vintage by famous painters, including Chagall, Braque, Picasso, Bacon, Warthol, Balthus, etc. Baroness Philippine displayed this unique collection to the public in 1981, in an exhibition that has since travelled the world.

In 1962, Andre Malraux inaugurated the Museum of Wine in Art, a collection of precious objects devoted to wine and the vine from three millennia. Mouton soon became a popular tourist site, attracting thousands of visitors a year. Baron Phillippe’s last challenge was to obtain a revision of the 1855 classification so that Mouton would be officially recognised as a First Growth.

After 20 years spent fighting official inertia and the status quo, he won his battle in 1973. Since then, Chateau Mouton Rothschild has been an acknowledged member of the elite to which it had in fact belonged for many years already. Today under the ownership of Baroness Philipine de Rothschild the chateau maintains its ranking as producing one of the finest wines of Bordeaux, and perhaps one the finest red wine in the world.

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Home to three premir grand cru classes (first great growths), Pauillac is a prestigious winemaking commune. Chateau Lafite, Chateau Latour and Chateau Mouton-Rothschild can all be found here.

The wines produced are mouth filling with a full body and, though quite tannic and overpoweringly acidic when young, they develop a splendid floral bouquet of rose petals, cedar and blackberries with age.

Soils: Gravels and sands
Size: 1,100 hectares
Output: 8,500,000 bottles
Type of wine produced: Full-body red with a strong bouquet.
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot

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Vintage Overview

One phrase which is being used increasingly to describe the 2010 vintage is ‘embarrassingly good.’ Given how 2009 was lauded to the heavens by the bordelaise as ‘the best ever’, it’s something of an awkward truth that – a mere twelve months later - we are faced once more with awe-inspiring quality. A due sense of cynicism is to be expected, but this mustn’t interfere with our appreciation of what is, quite objectively, a fabulous vintage.

Not that this came as a sudden surprise, as Bill Blatch (Bordeaux expert and negociant) notes: “Back in November, many owners were already quietly confident that their ’10 was better than the already legendary ’09 but, coming hot on the heels of the hallowed 2009s, they seemed embarrassed to say it too loudly. Today, half of Bordeaux is less timid in assessing ’10 as great as, if not greater than ’09.” He adds, “There is one point of total agreement: It is totally different from its predecessor.”

What we appear to have is more of a stylistic shift, while the quality has remained essentially static in its excellence. This quality isn’t reserved to the top tiers of Bordeaux producers, either. David Peppercorn MW observes that wines are attractive at all levels, from lesser properties all the way up to Grand Crus: “Those with lesser sites have made excellent wines.” He added that he would be quite happy to list many of them as everyday wines at the prestigious West End Garrick Club, where he sits on the wine committee.

The Reds

These are not wines for the faint-hearted, and in their excellence they are uncompromising. The average alcohol level is 14.5 per cent, peaking at 15.5 per cent in some cases. In addition, pH values are very low, acidity is obviously very high, and the tannins are formidable (ensuring fantastic ageing potential.)

Overall, these are ripe, dense wines packed with sweet fruit notes such as raspberry, strawberry and black cherry. Some are so richly flavourful that they take on a delicious ‘pruney’ dimension. Ordinarily this would be overpowering, but the keen balancing acidity keeps everything in check.

There is also what we might call a ‘rustic’ edge to many of these reds, in contrast to the silky voluptuousness of the 2009s. This is due to a searing hit of green tannins, which will develop and imbue the wine with steadily greater structure and balance.

Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc were generally picked in near-perfect conditions during the gloriously dry conditions of mid-October.

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