Château Mouton Rothschild

Château Mouton Rothschild: A symbol of wine excellence

Château Mouton Rothschild in Pauillac, near Bordeaux, is one of the world’s most famous wine estates. The estate is situated in the north of the commune of Pauillac within the Haut-Médoc appellation and is owned by the English branch of the Rothschild banking dynasty .

The estate’s history dates back to the 18th century, when it was owned by the noble Ségur family. The foundations for its later worldwide fame were laid by Joseph de Brane, who took over the Barony of Mouton in 1720 and significantly expanded the vineyards. In 1853, Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild acquired the estate, then known as Château Brane-Mouton, and gave it its current name. In the famous Bordeaux Classification of 1855, Mouton was initially awarded only the rank of Deuxième Cru Classé .

However, the true legend of the estate began in 1922 with Baron Philippe de Rothschild. He was the first wine estate owner to introduce the practice of bottling the wine entirely at the château, in order to guarantee consistent quality . His greatest triumph came in 1973, when – not without some effort – he secured the first and only revision of the 1855 classification, and Mouton officially rose to join the elite of the Premiers Grands Crus Classés .

The terroir is exceptional: the vineyards stretch across 82 hectares on a limestone hilltop with a thick layer of gravel . 77 per cent of the vines are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, complemented by Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot . The Grand Vin matures for around twenty months in new barriques and captivates with aromas of blackcurrant, truffle, roasted coffee and leather.

A special tradition began in 1945: since then, every year a famous artist has designed the label – including greats such as Chagall, Braque, Picasso and Dalí. Today, the estate is run by the children of Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, who passed away in 2014. With an annual production of around 300,000 bottles of the first wine and the second wine ‘Le Petit Mouton’, Château Mouton Rothschild remains the undisputed epitome of the ultimate Bordeaux .