Chateau Mouton Rothschild
The history of this Château started with the purchase of Château Brane-Mouton in Pauillac (Bordeaux) in 1853 by Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild. He bought the Château because he had the intention of serving his own wine to his prestigious guests. He renamed it Château Mouton-Rothschild.
Although the Château was ranked as a 2nd growth in the 1855 classification, it was widely recognized as one of the top estates in the Bordeaux area. In 1922, Baron Philippe de Rothschild (the great-grandson of Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild), came in charge. In 1924, he insisted that all the wine was bottled at the Château. Furthermore, he asked the famous poster artist Jean Carlu to design the label for Mouton-Rothschild. The idea was way ahead of its time, but it took another 20 years (from 1945 on), before the Château decided to invite an artist every year to design a label for its wine.
In 1926, the famous “Grand Chai” (a 100-meter-long barrel hall / cellar) was built. In 1973, after lobbying for decades, Mouton-Rothschild was finally promoted to the 1st growth category (Premier Grand Cru Classé). This is the one of the very few changes in the 1855 Classification so far. (Only Château Cantemerle was included in 1856.) Immediately the motto was changed from:
“Premier ne puis, second ne daigne, Mouton suis” / “First I cannot be, second I do not deign to be, Mouton I am”
to
“Premier je suis, second je fus, Mouton ne change” / “First I am, second I was, Mouton does not change”.
The estate has 90 Ha planted with vines, which consist of Cabernet Sauvignon (81%), Merlot (15%), Cabernet Franc (3%) and Petit Verdot (1%). Besides the “Grand Vin” Mouton-Rothschild, the Château also produces a second wine called “Le Petit Mouton de Mouton-Rothschild (since 1993) and a white wine called “Aile d’Argent (since 1991).
There is also a magnificent wine museum which makes the château a top tourist attraction.
Legendary vintages for Mouton-Rothschild are: 1945(!), 1959, 1961, 1982, 1986, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2015.
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