Art in a bottle

The label is the signature of a wine. Here you can read who made the wine, its age, and where it comes from. But it can also add a new dimension, which Frenchman Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988) was one of the first to discover. 

As early as 1924, the baron, who owned one of the world’s most illustrious vineyards, Château Mouton Rothschild in the village of Pauillac, Médoc, France, commissioned French artist Jean Carlu to create art labels for his wines to celebrate the landmark year for winemaking at the château.

Rothschild’s reorganisation

1924 was the year Rothschild decided to change the rules of the business. Instead of sending the wine to the wine merchants of Bordeaux as usual, he bottled the wine on the premises. This gave him full control of both content and appearance of the bottle – and avoided the middleman being mentioned on the label.

The Rothschild brand

However, it wasn’t before World War II that consistent use art labels became part of the fabric of the brand. For the vintage of the Liberation Year, Rothschild commissioned artist Philippe Julian to design a label with a V to signify l’Année de le Victoire.

Since then illustrated art labels have become a signature feature of Château Mouton Rothschild wines with each vintage having its own artist. Many have since attempted to copy the idea, arguably with less artistic merit. The superior league of commissioned artists for the Mouton Rothschild wines speaks for itself: Jean Cocteau, Georges Braque, Salvador Dali, Pierre Alechinsky, Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon and the Danish artist Per Kirkeby have all contributed with their inspired mastery.

But there is more to Château Mouton Rothschild than the label. The wine is today one of the most sought-after worldwide, and auction 798 presents no less than 60 lots of the wine.

Preview: Tuesday 2 December 1 pm – 5 pm and Wednesday 3 December 1 pm – 5.45 pm

Auction: Wednesday 3 December 6 pm

Read more about the auction

View all Chateau Mouton Rothschild wines at auction no. 798

View all wines at auction no. 798

Download a PDF of the catalogue