JAMES SUCKLING: What a nose of blackberries, blackcurrants, minerals and graphite. Full-bodied and extremely fine and polished. Sexy and ethereal. Harmony. A little salty. Fabulous 2012. Pure silk. Better after 2020 but so wonderful now.

ROBERT PARKER - WINE Advocate: Tasted at the Mouton-Rothschild vertical in London, the 2012 Mouton-Rothschild clearly has the upper hand over the 2011, if not quite at the level of the 2009, 2010 and what I envisage will be the 2015. There is obviously greater fruit intensity here, as if the contrast has been dialed up a couple of notches. It is quite showy on the nose, preening in its infancy with pure black cherries, graphite and hints of cold slate-like scents, later that hint of seaweed I observed when tasted blind a few months earlier. The palate is beautifully balanced with great vim and vigor. This is a Mouton that will not be put down - vivacious, vivid and delineated with wonderful focus and crucially, impressive persistence on the finish. Do not underestimate this Mouton-Rothschild, because I can see an upswing as it matures in bottle. Tasted April 2016. - Neal Martin"

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, dezente Randaufhellung. Zart nussig unterlegtes schwarzes Waldbeerkonfit, ein Hauch von Lakritze und Cassis, tabakige Nuancen. Saftig, reife schwarze Beerenfrucht, feste, gut verankerte Tannine, finessenreicher Säurebogen, salzige Nuancen, zitroniger Anklang im Abgang, rote Kirschen im Rückgeschmack." - Peter Moser