Château Mouton Rothschild

Review of the Estate

Château Mouton Rothschild is a wine estate located in the village of Pauillac Mèdoc, 50km (30mi) north-west of the city of Bordeaux,France. Its redwineof the same name is regarded as one of the world's greatestclarets. Originally known as Château Brane-Moutonit was renamed by Nathaniel de Rothschildin 1853 to Château Mouton Rothschild. It was the first estate to begin complete château bottling of the harvest.

The branch of theRothschild familyowning Mouton Rothschild are members of thePrimum Familiae Vini.

TheBordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855was based entirely on recent market prices for a vineyard's wines, with one exception: Château Mouton Rothschild. Despite the market prices for their vineyard's wines equalling that of Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Mouton Rothschild was excluded fromFirst Great Growthstatus, an act thatBaron Philippe de Rothschildreferred to as "the monstrous injustice". It is widely believedthat the exception was made because the vineyard had recently been purchased by an Englishman and was no longer in French ownership.

In 1973, Mouton was elevated to "first growth" status after decades of intense lobbying by its powerful and influential owner,the only change in the original 1855 classification (excepting the 1856 addition of Château Cantemerle). This prompted a change ofmotto: previously, the motto of the wine was Premier ne puis, second ne daigne, Mouton suis. ("First, I cannot be. Second, I do not deign to be. Mouton I am."), and it was changed to Premier je suis, Second je fus, Mouton ne change.("First, I am. Second, I used to be. Mouton does not change.")

Baron Philippe de Rothschild came up with the idea of having each year's label designed by a famous artist of the day. In 1946, this became a permanent and significant aspect of the Mouton image with labels created by some of the world's great painters and sculptors. The only exception to date is the unusual gold-enamel bottle for 2000.

To celebrate the hundredth birthday of the acquisition of Château Mouton, the portrait of Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild appeared on the 1953 label. In 1977, Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother visited the château and a special label was designed to commemorate the visit.

Twice in the history of Chatau Moutons special labels, there have been two used for the same year. The first occurred in 1978 when Montreal artist Jean-Paul Riopelle submitted two designs. Baron Philippe de Rothschild liked them equally so he split the production run and used both designs. The 1993 Mouton label, a pencil drawing of a nude reclining nymphet by the French painter Balthus was rejected for use in the United States by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. As such, for the U.S. market the label was made with a blank space where the image should have been and both versions are sought after by collectors. The popularity of the label images results in auction prices for older and more collectible years being far out of sync with the other first growths, whose labels do not change year to year. The recent label, for Château Mouton's 2010 vintage, is the work of American artist Jeff Koons.

Chateau Mouton Rothschild Wine List