Château Mouton-Rothschild 2003 [magnum]

James Suckling

This has lots of phenolic character. Full-bodied and chewy with very ripe nuances. So much coffee and walnut character. A big and slightly overdone wine. Shows the extreme heat of the vintage. Drink now.

Anthocyanes - Yohan Castaing

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

Wine Enthusiast

This wine is dominated by new wood, which goes right through the big, dark fruit flavors and tannins. Very ripe cassis flavors are under this wood, waiting likely for many years before the wood flavors subside. This is very much in the modern, polished style of Mouton today, made even more pronounced by the heat of the 2003 vintage

Falstaff

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2003 harvest began on September 15 and finished ten days later. The result is an outstanding 2003 Mouton-Rothschild, but it is not one of the superstars of Pauillac or the Northern Médoc. Its nearby neighbors, Lafite-Rothschild, Cos d’Estournel and Montrose, all produced wines that qualitatively dominate this effort from Mouton-Rothschild. Nevertheless, there is a lot to like. The tannins, which were so tough initially, have softened somewhat, and the nose offers up notes of cedarwood, roasted coffee, tobacco leaf and red and blackcurrants. This spicy, earthy, fleshy, medium to full-bodied 2003 is not one of the stars of the vintage. It is close to full maturity, where it should remain for another 10-15 years.