I’ve noticed this for a while, and it seems to be on a tear recently. Today at HDH auction, two lots went for around $1,900 per bottle. It doesn’t have the highest scores of the first growths for the 2000 vintage: in fact, it appears to have the lowest. Is it the bottle?
I haven’t kept up with bordeaux prices after I sold mine, but I maybe it’s because the bottle is special / different? It has the gold etched lamb instead of a traditional label. Totally a guess.
The pretty Augsburg Ram art?
The bottle !
Pulled this from KL site. Pretty unanimous description of the wine, which is very rare. It’s rich, it’s figgy, chocolaty, and pruney, and it’s in a glorious container!
97 points Wine Enthusiast
With its distinctive antique bottle and gold etched label dominated by a sheep, this is definitely a move away from classic Bordeaux bottling. It is good that the wine can support the presentation. The fruit is so ripe, it almost tastes of raisins, but that sweetness is finely balanced by the dry tannins and concentrated texture. To finish, there are exotic spices, giving an almost oriental character to the long aftertaste. (RV) (6/2003)96 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
Perhaps the most beautiful packaging ever on a Bordeaux bottle, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild literally produced a work of art in the gold-engraved bottle of 2000 Mouton Rothschild. Of course, one can’t drink the glass, but this is a top-flight Mouton Rothschild, eclipsed only by the 2006 and 2009. A rich, tannic, earthy style, with loads of creme de cassis and floral notes, the final blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot is a full-bodied wine with plenty of coffee, earth, chocolatey notes, and still plenty of tannin to resolve. I gave it an anticipated maturity range of 2015-2050 back in 2003, and that looks on target. (RP) 96+ (6/2010)95 points Vinous
Bright deep ruby with the barest hint of garnet; still very youthful. Enticing, complex nose of cassis, smoky cedar, violet, underbrush and kirsch; very Pauillac, if in a ripe style. Dense, rich and suave in the mouth, with lively acidity nicely framing the rich flavors of blackcurrant, blackberry jam, milk chocolate, grilled bread and spicy underbrush. Finishes with noble tannins and outstanding chocolatey persistence. A great Mouton and much better than another recently tasted bottle that had shown some signs of premature evolution. Though this wine comes across as quite smoky and chocolatey, Tourbier points out that Mouton has been using barrels with a medium or medium-plus toast since 1994 (more heavily charred barrels were used here from 1989 through 1993). The excellent millennium vintage featured a hot and humid year characterized by a very large crop and a fairly rainy first part of the year, but a very dry and warm second half resulted in considerable hydric stress (especially on the Right Bank.) (ID) (8/2011)93 points James Suckling
The nose is very intense, super-ripe and rich, verging on jammy. Notes of leather, spices and prunes. Full-bodied, soft and beautiful with ripe tannins and a long finish. This is soft and yummy right now. Drink or hold. (3/2015)93 points Wine Spectator
Rounded, fleshy and a bit extracted in feel, with dark plum, blackberry and fig jam flavors that flirt with a pruny edge, picking up lots of warm mocha, singed vanilla bean and ganache notes through the finish. This relies more on easy opulence than on depth or purity on the end. Drink now through 2023. (JM, Web Only-2016)
I think it´s the bottle - it cannot actually be the wine, because it´s good, even outstanding, but far from really great …
A Mouton vintage for people with too much money …
Mouton has really done well in recent years because the centers of new demand have a strong liking of anything with Rothschild in the label. This is not just visible with Lafite and Mouton, but all of their properties and second wines.
And then yes- count me as another vote for the bottle having a significant impact- and here in a broader sense market-wise. It makes a difference- which is why so many wineries, even at the top of the quality hierarchy, have switched to costlier and heavier bottles in recent years. The 2000 Mouton just takes that theory a step further (and with good results.)
I had it in October and it is an outstanding Mouton, and the character of the wine is actually quite nuanced, completely out of character with the bottle which can only be described as kitsch. While it is a wine with a brilliant future I doubt it is better than Chateau Margaux. FWIW I gave it 96 points.
My note
Destined for greatness with an elegance in its youth which should not be confused for lack of substance. It is not the brooding behemoth you might expect. But all the moving parts are in place and will gradually interact to turn this into a stunning Mouton, which will gain in complexity and may even move the game on a bit from the 20th century legends. It also compares favourably to the desperately awkward 2005. Ironically the character of this wine is so out of whack with the gauche and kitsch engraved label. Over time the score will inevitably go higher than this snapshot of a teenage potential legend in the making.
Higher Parker points than Suckling points. Makes it an outlier.
I agree with Ian. This is going to be a great Mouton. I have not had all the 2000 first growths but I would be stunned if there was one better than the Mouton.
Margaux was clearly a step above Mouton on release.
No, I disagree. While it is an outstanding Mouton with a rating in the mid 90s apropriate (95-96 p is ok) it will never reach the heights of a 1982 or 1986 …
Moreover almost all 1er crus 2000 were more impressive, Margaux, Latour, Cheval, Haut-Brion … (I´m not so sure about Lafite …) … however they are lacking a “special” bottle/label in this "century-vintage … 
Mouton 2000 imho lacks the outstanding depth and concentration to be really great (say worth 99-100 points) … I had always the impression of slightly too high yields and/or not enough selection (so there certainly may be enough bottles to make good money) … 
Wow! What gives there?
Look what happened when Margaux produced a special bottle honoring the great Paul Pontallier in 2015. Price of 2015 Margaux doubled. Special bottlings create their own rarity factor.
And to be honest, there must be something special when you are decanting that bottle of Mouton.
And I think it will be better than 1986 and who knows about 1982 since that is only now entering it’s drinking window. I think 2000 Mouton is a complete wine. Tasted last year.
I agree with Gerhard, I remember when the 2000 was released and it was the weakest of the 1er cru by some margin. I distinctly remember the bottle being cool, but the contents were just OK.
I had 2000 Margaux two years ago, and it was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY over the top. So much so, no one guessed it was Cali, and it was paired with 2010 Harlan. It was easily the worst 100 pointer (to my taste) that I’ve ever had, and I’ve had probably every 100 point CDP ever made.
The OP said something about “ratings”, which is interesting, as that has almost zero impact at auction on Bordeaux. It does in some weird spots (like 1990 Beausejour Duffau, but is really an all time classic in a well stored bottle). They will for Cali wines, but not so much Bordeaux.
Custom made for Alfert!
?? Did you mean that everyone guessed it was from California?
Just imagine what it would sell for if they had some really cute critter on the label:
