Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 1855 1èr Cru 2018

I’m not alone in considering this one of the all-time great Moutons – it was awarded World’s Greatest Wine is 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 the signature smoked and grilled spices of Mouton. The tannins are velvety but determined, holding on to their fruit with no intention of letting go for another few decades. 100% new oak. There is the tiniest touch of Petit Verdot in the blend but 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.