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Mouton Cadet Rouge Bordeaux 2016

RedFrance2016

By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-11-13 · Published 2026-09-07 · Updated 2026-09-07

In one paragraphMouton Cadet Rouge 2016 is a Bordeaux AOC red that Baron Philippe de Rothschild, owner of Château Mouton Rothschild, has been making since 1930. It shares neither vineyards nor cellar with the first-growth Mouton Rothschild; it is a blend of 83% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc from some 450 contract growers across Bordeaux. At 13.5–14% alcohol and sold in 150 countries, it is the world's top-selling Bordeaux brand. It averages 3.6 on Vivino (13,630 ratings), and Korean retail as of 2022 was ₩30,000–34,000 (about US$22–25), or ₩28,000 (about US$20) on promotion. A modest, everyday medium Bordeaux that lives below its name.

At a glance

Social Vignerons 87 · No official scores from the major critics (Parker, Suckling) — as a mass-market brand it simply isn't reviewed

Market note: Tens of millions of bottles a year; 155 vintages are registered on Vivino. Relaunched as the 'new Mouton Cadet' from the 2015 vintage (more Merlot, more Right Bank fruit).

What this wine is

Let's clear up the misunderstanding first. Mouton Cadet is not Château Mouton Rothschild. In 1930, a twenty-something Baron Philippe de Rothschild took grapes from a poor harvest that he felt were not worthy of the first-growth label and made a second wine, naming it 'Mouton Cadet' after himself — the youngest (cadet) of the family. When it caught on, by the late 1930s it had become a separate brand made from grapes bought across Bordeaux, not from the Mouton vineyards at all. Today Mouton Cadet is Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A.'s mass-market brand, sharing only its name and the ram crest with Mouton Rothschild.

The scale is bigger than you would guess. Fruit comes from 453 contract growers and 1,520 hectares across Bordeaux, and the wine sells in 150 countries — hence the tag 'the world's best-selling Bordeaux.' From the 2015 vintage it was relaunched as the 'new Mouton Cadet,' moving nearly half of its contracted vineyards to the Côtes de Bordeaux (the Right Bank hills) and sharply raising the share of Merlot. The stated goal of head winemaker Pierre Lambert: "rounder, softer, more juicy."

The 2016 Rouge is 83% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc. The producer's note speaks of raspberry, cherry and strawberry jam with menthol and licorice. The oak is a brief brush, and the wine is built to be drunk straight after bottling. Alcohol on the label: 13.5%.

What the world says

13,630 Vivino ratings, averaging 3.6. Three stars is the most common score (49%), with 41% at four or above. Aroma keywords run blackberry, blackcurrant and plum, then oak, vanilla and tobacco, then cherry, then earth and leather, with pepper (212 mentions) and cheese (133) trailing. Structure: acidity 3.8/5, intensity 3.8, tannin 3.5 — the community filing it under 'full-bodied, high acidity' means the frame is fairly sharp for a Merlot-led Bordeaux.

The vintage trend is interesting. The 2010–2013 vintages hovered at 3.3–3.4, then rose steadily: 3.5 in 2015, the first year of the relaunch, 3.6 in 2016, up to 3.8 in 2019. That is the community's testimony that the brand actually got better. The 2016 sits in the middle of that climb.

"Earth, leather, tobacco, mushroom, ripe bruised blackberry, red cherry. Complex tannins and a long finish. Enjoyable and cheap." — Vivino review, Dec 2019, 4 stars

"Sour cherry and clove. Leathery tannins. Wish the finish were a bit longer, but good for the price." — Vivino review, Jan 2020, 4 stars (19 likes)

"Lots of spice on the nose. Pepper, young red plum, licorice. Chalky tannins. Sour, bitter aftertaste. Still rough and green." — Vivino review, Jul 2023, 3.7 stars

Social Vignerons gave the 2016 Rouge 87 points, writing of "fresh raspberry and blueberry, a touch of vanilla and chocolate, red bell pepper and violet, peppermint," and judged it better than the 2014. The major critics — Parker, Suckling, Spectator — do not issue official scores for this wine. It is a wine for distribution, not for criticism.

How I drank it

November 13, 2019, 3 stars. The note is two words: "Ordinary Bordeaux."

I was three weeks into recording wines at the time, and on the same day I gave Almaviva 2016 4.5 stars and wrote "Strong pepper." The Mouton Cadet drunk alongside it would have been a bottle with neither pepper nor intensity — ordinary, quite literally. Looking at the community data now, that judgment was accurate. Take away the name 'Mouton' and this is a ₩30,000 Merlot-led Bordeaux, with nothing in particular to remember beyond sour cherry, plum, a little oak and a little earth.

But six years on, there is something I want to add. The ordinariness is not a flaw; it is the design. The same taste whether you buy it in any of 150 countries, acidity that copes politely with steak or bulgogi (marinated beef) alike, a softness that lets you drink it the moment it's open. For someone drinking their first Bordeaux, it is the first page of the textbook: 'Bordeaux tastes roughly like this.' I never bought it again, and for the same money Villa Antinori Rosso or Tarapacá Gran Reserva gave me far more pleasure. But it is also true that when you have to grab a bottle from a convenience store in a hurry, this is a name that does not fail you. Three stars does not mean bad; it means exactly as much as you expected.

Vivino community data

2016 vintage rating distribution (13630 ratings, average 3.6)

Most-mentioned aromas

Structure: Acidity 3.8/5 · Intensity 3.8/5 · Tannin 3.5/5 · Sweetness 1.5/5

Average by vintage (all vintages: 115372 ratings, average 3.6)

My original note (Vivino, 2019-11-13)

Buying in Korea

Frequently asked questions

Links & sources

View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher

• Vivino — wine page and community data
• Baron Philippe de Rothschild — 'new Mouton Cadet' announcement (contract growers, relaunch details)
• Social Vignerons — Mouton Cadet 2016 review (blend proportions, 87 points)
• Vinobot — Korean retail prices