2018 シャトー・ムートン・ロスチャイルド、ポイヤック

I’m not alone in considering this one of the all-time great Moutons - it was awarded World’s Greatest Wine in a competition last year that saw numerous rounds of blind tasting. It’s worth your while to find out why - this is a powerhouse of beautiful fruits - layer upon concentrated layer of blackberry, cassis, liquorice, baked earth, cigar box, black truffle and Mouton’s signature smoked and grilled spices. The tannins are velvety but determined, holding on to their fruit with no intention of letting go for another few decades—100% new oak. The tiniest touch of Petit Verdot in the blend is under 1%, so it’s not in the official figures. 62% of production went into the grand vin. 3.78pH. 88IPT. The artist for this vintage is Xu Bing. Drink 2028 - 2048

Exquisite purity of blackcurrants, raspberries and some citrus. The aromas flow from the glass. Full-bodied with seamless tannins that coat the palate and fall into the centre, delivering a refined and harmonious young red. Endless finish. 86% cabernet sauvignon. This is the new 1959, one of the legendary vintages of Mouton. Try after 2026

Tasted blind. Another wine that’s also heady and rich but tightens up on the finish. Classy, though it’s a tiny bit drying on the end. But there’s a lot of pleasure there. Refined and very long. Drink 2028 - 2048

Coming from a selection of 76% of the total production, the 2018 Château Mouton Rothschild checks in as 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc that was brought up all in new French oak. This dense purple-hued effort has a backward, primordial bouquet of pure crème de cassis, scorched earth, burning embers, and graphite. There are hints of classic Pauillac tobacco and lead pencil, but it's locked and loaded at this point. Full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, and flawlessly balanced on the palate, it has lots of tannins, a good spine of acidity, and a great finish. It doesn't have the sexy opulence of the 2015 and 2016, yet it has more minerality, and I suspect it's every bit as concentrated. A solid decade of bottle age will be warranted, and this powerful, concentrated Mouton will evolve for longer than most of us reading this will be alive. Drink 2029 - 2079

The 2018 Mouton Rothschild is a rich, shockingly flamboyant wine endowed with tremendous fruit density and a level of unctuousness that could be taken for a wine still in barrel. Marvellously open and fleshy, the 2018 is utterly breathtaking today. I imagine it will shut down at some point, but today it is all seduction here. Ripe red cherry, plum, mocha, spice and cedar infuse the 2018 with tons of complexity. This is a tremendous showing. Drink 2028 - 2058

The 2018 Mouton Rothschild is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc—there is also a splash of all the Petit Verdot they had, but it doesn’t even register in the percentage. It has 13.8% alcohol, which is relatively modest for the vintage. Deep garnet-purple coloured, it straight away pops with bright, vivacious notes of crushed blackcurrants, juicy blackberries and redcurrant jelly with slowly emerging nuances of candied violets, stewed plums, liquorice and black tea, plus a waft of dusty red soil. The medium-bodied palate is built like a brick house with super firm, super ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the muscular black fruits, finishing long and savoury with lingering mineral suggestions. This is so, so delicious and, due to the ripeness of tannins, approachable now. It will be difficult to keep your mitts off it for a good 5-7 years when all those tightly tucked away nuances should begin to emerge. After that, it should improve over the course of 25 years or more and drink for 40+. Drink 2027 - 2067