Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve: A great wine with a charming texture and fragrance, but not at the expense of vinosity – we were impressed by its chic and length. Note the slight shift in style here compared to recent vintages. This wine contains slightly more Merlot than usual (more than in either of the other two Pauillac first growths) and reflects subtle changes in the winemaking process (temperature, length of fermentation) and barrel preparation. 18.5

Margaret Rand: Mouton seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it wine this year. This taster loved it: it’s colossal, but its power is restrained and it seduces rather than bludgeons. It’s still very tight and closed, with roasted coffee and spice fruit and an enormous finish. It will be a wine of endless fascination. The best Mouton for several years. 19.5

Michael Schuster: Dense nose – dark cassis and mineral. Very elegantly balanced Mouton – concentrated, fresh and with a notably refined tannin texture (not the blunt, extracted character of some recent years). A fine, silky core of dark, ripe cassis fruit with a clear mineral terroir character behind. Long, close-grained and beautifully sustained across the palate, with superb fruit essence and mineral length. A lovely Mouton – not that big, but very classy. Should make a most seductive mature bottle. 18+