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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
At a glance
In one line
3.0/5 — lower than Vivino's 3.6 average · world avg price US$10 · The best-selling Bordeaux in the world.
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).
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“Ordinary bordeaux.”
What I learned today: even inside the word "ordinary," there can be someone's most comfortable seat.
The bar is closed on Sundays. In the morning, still under the covers, I read Instagram comments. The same question had piled up under a bottle I'd posted a few days earlier: "Is it really a brother of Mouton Rothschild?" I didn't properly know either. In the afternoon I went to Mom's. Saying it was cold out, she warmed up some ssanghwa tea for me.
From the steaming cup came the smell of licorice root. Sweetish, a little bitter. Beside it, the red sweetness of jujube.
The licorice brought an evening back. Late autumn when I was twenty-one, a Wednesday evening with cold rain drumming on the window. On that night of endlessly changing glasses, one glass was unusually comfortable. Cherry, raspberry, licorice at the end. Among the showy glasses, that one was like a neighborhood alley. I drank it slowest of all. Father took one sip and reached straight for the next bottle. I don't know the bottle's name.
In the evening I opened the notebook. "Ordinary bordeaux." Three stars. The glass I was most at ease with that night was ordinary to Father. It stung a little, but I leave Father's sentence as it is. The bottle was Mouton Cadet Rouge. I sent Master Seo the comment question exactly as it was. The reply was short: "Same house at the root. Cadet means the youngest." I stuck a wine-name Post-it into the notebook. The bottle of Mouton that Father never got to open came to mind. Maybe, saving the elder brother's bottle, Father was short with the youngest.
I replied to the comments. Less a brother than the youngest, who went out into the neighborhood wearing his elder brother's name. What I learned today: even inside the word "ordinary," there can be someone's most comfortable seat.
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 logged sixteen bottles that day. Only Graham's Port, at 1, scored below this; sharing the 3 were Juan Gil Blue Label, Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay, Montes Alpha Merlot and the Ruhlmann crémant rosé. Above sat Tarapacá 3.5, Mrva & Stanko 3.5 and Almaviva 4.5. Mouton Cadet never appears in my log again.
My 3 is 0.6 below the community's 3.6. The critic number is 87 from Social Vignerons (2019). Overseas retail is US$10–14, more than ten times below the Almaviva (US$150–170) I gave 4.5 the same day. There is no re-tasting on record.
Where this wine shows up
Baron Philippe de Rothschild has been an official supplier to the Cannes Film Festival since 1991, running the Mouton Cadet Wine Bar on the roof of the Palais des Festivals for the run of the festival. This Bordeaux blend is the bottle poured behind the red carpet.
PR Newswire — The Mouton Cadet Wine Bar 2019 (official supplier since 1991) · Baron Philippe de Rothschild official — Mouton Cadet Wine Bar at Cannes
"Top 5 Wines at E-Mart" articles are everywhere, but few are written by someone who has actually drunk the bottle. This picks five wines that already have a note on this magazine and a documented sighting on a Korean hypermarket shelf, with my score set next to Vivino's.
Artwork and stills are not reproduced for copyright reasons; scenes are summarised.
Vivino community data
2016 vintage rating distribution (13630 ratings, average 3.6)
| 5★ | 998 (7%) | |
| 4★ | 4621 (34%) | |
| 3★ | 6734 (49%) | |
| 2★ | 1001 (7%) | |
| 1★ | 276 (2%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Black fruit | 2035 | blackberry 651 · blackcurrant 461 · plum 335 |
| Oak | 1750 | oak 794 · vanilla 332 · tobacco 251 · chocolate 103 |
| Red fruit | 1226 | cherry 594 · raspberry 155 · strawberry 116 |
| Earth & leather | 1015 | earth 384 · leather 288 · smoke 109 |
| Spice | 440 | pepper 212 · licorice 86 |
| Dairy | 180 | cheese 133 · cream 29 |
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)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 3.4 | 3749 |
| 2011 | 3.4 | 7004 |
| 2012 | 3.4 | 8226 |
| 2013 | 3.3 | 8058 |
| 2014 | 3.5 | 10009 |
| 2015 | 3.5 | 11695 |
| 2016 | 3.6 | 13630 |
| 2017 | 3.6 | 9396 |
| 2018 | 3.7 | 10262 |
| 2019 | 3.8 | 7082 |
| 2020 | 3.7 | 4973 |
| 2021 | 3.7 | 3112 |
| 2022 | 3.7 | 3941 |
| 2023 | 3.7 | 1102 |
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→Frequently asked questions
Is Mouton Cadet the same wine as Château Mouton Rothschild?
No. The same company (Baron Philippe de Rothschild) makes both, but Mouton Rothschild is a first-growth grand cru from Pauillac, while Mouton Cadet is a mass-market Bordeaux AOC brand made from contract growers' grapes across the region. Baron Philippe named it in 1930 after himself, the 'cadet' (youngest) of the family. The price difference is a matter of dozens of times over.
How much does it cost?
Overseas retail is about US$10–14. As the world's best-selling Bordeaux brand, sold in 150 countries, it is easy to find anywhere and rarely strays far from that band.
What food does it go with?
Per Vivino: beef, veal, poultry, game. With its high acidity and medium tannin it also copes fine with sweet-and-savory marinated meats like bulgogi (marinated beef) and yangnyeom galbi (marinated short ribs).
Is the 2016 vintage still good to drink now?
The suggested window is 2018–2028, but this is not a wine that improves with keeping. If you still have one, drink it now; if you are buying new, recent vintages (2019 onward, averaging 3.7–3.8) are rated higher by the community.
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)
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United States · Sonoma★★★★☆Tasted the same day1865 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley 2015
Chile★★★★☆Same producerChâteau Rieussec, Sauternes 2010
France · Bordeaux★★★★½Same producerChâteau Mouton Rothschild 2005
France · BordeauxSame producerAlmaviva 2016
Chile · Central Chile★★★★½Story