Château Mouton Rothschild

Château Mouton Rothschild

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

The branch of the Rothschild family owning Mouton Rothschild are members of the Primum
Familiae Vini.

History
The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 was 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 from First Great Growth status, an act that Baron Philippe de
Rothschild referred to as "the monstrous injustice".It is widely believe that 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 of motto: 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.")

Vineyards
Château Mouton Rothschild has its vineyards on the slopes leading down to the Gironde Estuary,
in the Bordeaux region, mainly producing grapes of the Cabernet Sauvignon variety. Today,
Château Mouton Rothschild has 203 acres (0.8 km2) of grape vines made up of Cabernet
Sauvignon (77%), Merlot (11%), Cabernet Franc (10%) and Petit Verdot (2%). Their wine is
fermented in oak vats (they are one of the last châteaux in the Médoc to use them) and then
matured in new oak casks. It is also frequently confused with the widely distributed generic
Bordeaux Mouton Cadet.

Labels
See also: List of Artists who have created a Château Mouton Rothschild label

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.

Artists such as Salvador Dali, Francis Bacon, Picasso and Miro designed labels for bottles of
Mouton Rothschild.

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 their 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 most recent label, for Mouton's 2010 vintage, is the work of American artist Jeff Koons.


1975

1983

1990

1991


 1992

1993

1994

1995

1996
 

1998

2000

Business dealings
In 1980, the vineyard officially announced their joint venture with Robert Mondavi to create
Opus One Winery in Oakville, California. The 1990s saw large-scale expansion in the Americas
under the leadership of President Cor Dubois, with the region eventually contributing almost half
of the company's turnover. In 1997, Château Mouton Rothschild teamed up with Concha y Toro
of Chile to produce a quality Cabernet Sauvignon-based red wine in a new winery built in Chile's
Maipo Valley: The Almaviva.

The operation is today run by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild. In June 2003, the vineyard
hosted La Fête de la Fleur at the end of Vinexpo to coincide with their 150th anniversary.

Judgment of Paris
The 1970 vintage took second place, and was the highest ranked French wine, at the historic
1976 Judgment of Paris wine competition.