1999 Le Petit Mouton

I tasted at Mouton with Jean-Louis Lafourcade, maitre de chai for both Armailhac and Clerc-Milon. Lafourcade said the cabernet sauvignon was superb in 2000: the crop level was 43 hectoliters per hectare for the estate, and an unusually high 85% of production will go into the grand vin The pH is a rather high 3.85 but total acidity is sound. "And the tannins are noble, like those of 1986," notes Lafourcade. But no cabernet franc will make it into any of Mouton 2000s, as this variety did not ripen completely and lacked the concentration of the sauvignon and merlot. I continue to like all three '99s from the Mouton stable; this vintage will give considerable early pleasure.