Château Mouton Rothschild

History

It all began in 1853 when a Baron named Nathaniel de Rothschild bought Château Brane-Mouton (Pauillac, Médoc) at auction: no sooner acquired, no sooner renamed Château Mouton Rothschild. Two years later, at the request of Napoleon III for the Paris Universal Exhibition, it appeared in the famous 1855 classification. The Château was classified as a Second Cru, but later changed category...

In 1924, Philippe de Rothschild, then Nathaniel's great-grandson, introduced a new rule: bottling should take place on the estate. However, this idea implied a number of changes, particularly with regard to storage. As the winery was not large enough, it was enlarged over the next two years. This was not Philippe's only decision, as he acquired a trading company in 1933, which he named Baron Philippe de Rothschild.

The years went by, and some of them were more tumultuous, not least with an event that changed the world: the Second World War. In 1945, the whole country celebrated, and the wine flowed. Philippe approached an artist by the name of Philippe Jullian and revealed his new idea: to illustrate the labels with the artist's touch. Jullian did just that, and it was a resounding success, so much so that the tradition continues to this day with every vintage...

And speaking of vintages, 1973 will go down in the history of Château Mouton Rothschild: the promotion from Second Cru to Premier Cru in the 1855 classification. More precisely, it was on June 21, 1973 that the request was granted, by a certain Jacques Chirac, then Minister of Agriculture...

Philippe de Rothschild, who had fought for this very request, died 15 years later (1988), leaving his daughter Philippine de Rothschild and her 3 children an immense winegrowing inheritance but with great responsibilities. Baroness Philippine left her acting career and took over the reins of the house. In 1993, she launched a second wine, "Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild", which retained some of that touch of excellence.

A new generation

Sadly, she passed away in 2014, leaving the estate to her 3 children (Camille Seyres de Rothschild, Philippe Seyres de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild) whose sole aim is to perpetuate the family destiny...

Today, Château Mouton Rothschild enjoys an international reputation. 84 hectares of vines to produce three wines, including Château Mouton Rothschild, Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild and l'Aile d'Argent. Located on the Left Bank of the Gironde, the estate benefits from gravel, sand and clay soils, allowing grape varieties such as Cabernet-Franc, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot to flourish.

It's precisely these grape varieties, and the care taken with them, that have enabled the domaine to make a name for itself in wine competitions. In fact, critics such as Robert Parker have already awarded top marks to the wines produced by the estate, such is the constant quest for quality that can be felt throughout the tastings.