Rating: 95-98 points

Made from low yields of 28 hectoliters per hectare, this pro-found blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot possesses a finished pH of 3.8, alcohol of 12.9% (nearly identical to Lafite Rothschild in that sense), and 3.5 total acidity (much higher than the other first growths). The 2003 is similar in style to Mouton's 1982, but softer and more pliable than that wine was at the same age. The Cabernet Sauvignon harvest began on the same day it did in both 1982 and 1947, an interesting coinci-dence. Black/purple colored to the rim, with a gorgeous nose of espresso roast intermixed with classic Mouton creme de cassis-like notes, its powerful, unctuous flavors cascade over the palate, revealing tremendous intensity as well as strong tannin. This enormously endowed 2003 is still sorting itsself out, but it is unquestionably one of the greatest efforts of the vintage. Someone said that: it is the ripest, most flam-boyant Mouton Rothschild since the 1982. Anticipated matu-rity: 2012-2035.