Château Mouton-Rothschild 1er Cru Classe 2018

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

The 2018 Vintage at Mouton-Rothschild

Varietal mix

86% Cabernet Sauvignon
12% Merlot
2% Cabernet Franc

Climatic conditions

The first half of 2018 was marked by heavy rainfall and severe hailstorms during the winter, followed by a much milder spring.

Cool temperatures in March were followed by a warm spell in April which favoured vegetation growth and brought the vines into flower slightly earlier than usual. This trend was confirmed from June onwards as hot and sunny weather advanced the vine cycle by 5 days in relation to the average.

In July, high humidity coupled with the summer heat made it difficult to keep the vines healthy, but constant care from our growers ensured that all the qualities of the vineyard were preserved. Fortunately, hot and dry weather then set in for three months, with temperatures sometimes reaching more than 30°C, ending the mildew attacks.

Although conditions in the first half of the year did not herald a great harvest, the record-breaking temperatures, low rainfall and relative drought that followed in the summer months rectified the situation. The grapes were small but outstandingly rich in sugar and tannins.

The advance in the vine cycle and the hot, dry summer meant that the harvest began in late August for the white grapes and early September for the red grapes.

At Château Mouton-Rothschild, picking started with the Aile d’Argent parcels from 30 August to 5 September and continued with the red grapes from 10 September to 3 October.

The wines are intensely coloured and have excellent tannic structures. They are remarkably dense and smooth, with a rare concentration of aroma and flavour. Yields were smaller because of the drought, but the vintage can already be reckoned one of our great successes.

The Label

Each year since 1945, a famous artist has created an original artwork for the label of Château Mouton Rothschild, with complete freedom as to the design.

The owners of Château Mouton Rothschild, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, Camille Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, commissioned the label for the 2018 vintage from the Chinese artist and writer Xu Bing (b. 1955).

The artwork for the 2018 label reflects the artist’s work on the illusory splendour of appearances as manifested by his Square Word Calligraphy, which resembles traditional Chinese characters but is actually composed of the letters of the Latin alphabet. Xu Bing expresses his linguistic creativity in the invention of a unique script in which the words are absorbed into the codes of traditional Chinese ideography.

In this coalescence of cultures, the label for the 2018 vintage features the two words “Mouton Rothschild”.
The 2018 vintage, of exceptional quality, is already set to be one of Château Mouton Rothschild’s finest successes. The wine reveals an intense colour, an excellent tannic structure, remarkable heft and a creamy texture, as well as a rare concentration of aromas and flavours.

The label for such an exceptional vintage required an artist equal to the challenge, whose style would be as unique and distinctive as that of Château Mouton Rothschild and whose artworks would stand the test of time in the same way as a fine wine.

“When I discovered Xu Bing, I was captivated by him as an inventor of signs endowed with incredible poetic power. And then I said to myself that our labels were also signs, each work of art referring to a year: the 1973 vintage can also be called the ‘Picasso Mouton’, just as the 2018 vintage will be called the ‘Xu Bing Mouton’,” said Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild.

Considered to be one of the most important contemporary Chinese artists, Xu Bing majored in print making at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and started practising calligraphy from an early age. His works have been exhibited at the British Museum, London, the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, amongst other renowned institutions. Some of his most celebrated works include monumental sculptures and installations such as Book from the Sky, Phoenix and Background Stories.

“I have long been aware of the close connection between Château Mouton Rothschild and art. In 2013, I had the good fortune to be invited to Mouton Rothschild by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild. I was impressed by her energy, her warm personality and her knowledge of the arts. She said that one day I should create a label for Mouton Rothschild. So when Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild contacted me to illustrate the label for the vintage 2018, I took it as both an honour and an opportunity to pay tribute,” said Xu Bing.

Flash Back!

Double Exposed shots of Mouton’s first year barrel Chai with the winery crew in Moldova from 1996.

About Mouton-Rothschild

Château Mouton Rothschild, a Premier Cru Classé since 1973, now belongs to Camille Sereys de Rothschild, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, the three children of Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and grandchildren of the legendary Baron Philippe.

The château is managed by Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A., the family firm responsible for the viticulture activities. The estate comprises 83 hectares of vines in Pauillac, planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (81%), Merlot (15%), Cabernet Franc (3%) and Petit Verdot (1%), and boasts an exceptional terroir, both for the quality of its soil and its exposure to sunlight. Combining respect for tradition with the latest technology, meticulous care and attention are given from grape to bottle: hand picking, manual and optical sorting, fermentation vats with transparent staves, maturing in new oak barrels, etc.

Château Mouton Rothschild’s long, proud history can be summarized in a few key dates.

In 1853, Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, from the English branch of the family, acquired Château Brane-Mouton, which he renamed Château Mouton Rothschild.

In 1922, his great-grandson, Baron Philippe (1902-1988), took the future of the estate into his own hands. The 65 years of his reign bear the stamp of his strong personality, his spirit of enterprise and his openness to new ideas.

In 1924, he was the first to introduce château bottling.

In 1926, he built the famous Grand Chai, the majestic 100-metre great barrel hall that remains a major attraction of the Mouton tour.

1945, the Victory year that concluded the Second World War, heralded the start of an exciting collection of artworks created each year by famous painters for the Mouton label.

1962 saw the inauguration of the Museum of Wine in Art. Located next to the Great Barrel Hall, it contains a collection of precious objects devoted to the vine and wine spanning three millennia which draws thousands of visitors every year.

In 1988, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild (1933-2014) succeeded her father at the head of the estate, becoming in her turn the guarantor of the quality of this illustrious wine. In 1981, she had already decided to honour the close link between art and wine by creating “Paintings for the Labels”, a travelling exhibition devoted to the artists who have illustrated each vintage of Mouton.

In 1991, she created Aile d’Argent, a white wine made from grapes grown on a few hectares of vines on the Mouton estate planted with Sauvignon Blanc (57%), Sémillon (42%) and Muscadelle (1%).

In 1993, Mouton also began to produce a second wine for the first time: le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild.

In 2013, Baroness Philippine crowned the renovation of Mouton with the inauguration of a new vat room and an exhibition space for “Paintings for the Labels”, now permanently on display in the heart of the estate.

2014: Philippe Sereys de Rothschild succeeded his mother as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A. He had been Vice Chairman since 2006. Following in his mother’s and grandfather’s footsteps and in close collaboration with his sister and his brother, he is determined to continue to enhance the quality and reputation of this family-owned First Growth.

In the Vineyard

In the Winery

Where in the World is Mouton-Rothschild?

Mouton-Rothschild is in the Left Bank of Bordeaux in Pauillac.

Left Bank