Château Mouton Rothschild

In the late 17th century, the property belonged to the Marquis de Ségur, who also owned and created several legendary estates in Bordeaux: Château Calon Ségur (3rd Growth), which still bears their name, and of course, Château Latour (1st Growth) and what later became Château Lafite Rothschild (1st Growth) – both of which are located in Pauillac. 

 

In 1720, Joseph de Brane purchased the castle from Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur. Joseph also owned Château Brane-Cantenac (2nd Growth) in Margaux. The new owner combined his surname with "Mouton," which in the old Gascon dialect means "small hill," giving rise to Château Brane-Mouton.

​

The name change to Château Mouton Rothschild, as we know it today, occurred in 1853 when Nathaniel de Rothschild bought Château Brane-Mouton from Isaac Thuret. The castle was in disrepair, requiring extensive renovation of both the land and the property. Isaac Thuret sold the property for less than he had paid for it 23 years earlier. Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, an English member of the Rothschild family, followed the customs of the time and renamed the property by combining his name with a part of the original name.

​

One could argue that the modern era of Château Mouton Rothschild began at the same time as the modernization of the entire Bordeaux wine region. In terms of history, it was relatively recent, less than 100 years ago.

​

In 1922, Baron Philippe Rothschild took over the castle at the age of only 20. During the 1920s, he completely changed the way Bordeaux wine was produced and sold. All his methods and techniques were considered extremely radical at the time, but today they are still practiced by the finest producers in Bordeaux.

​

What the Baron achieved in just two years was nothing short of fantastic. He was the first owner in Bordeaux to insist on bottling all his wine on the property. At the time, this was considered an unusual idea, but it allowed total control over the wine until it was in the bottle. To create awareness of the first estate bottling, Philippe Rothschild hired the cubist artist Jean Carlu to decorate the label for the Château Mouton Rothschild bottle from 1924.

​

The new practice of bottling wine on the estate created a need for more storage on the property. In 1926, Baron Rothschild built the famous Grand Chai of Mouton Rothschild.

​

The now famous series of labels on Château Mouton Rothschild's first wine began immediately after the liberation in 1945. The debut label was perfect for the time and the wine. The image the Baron chose was a symbol celebrating the liberation of France: With the famous V for Victory emblem, a tradition was born! Since then, each vintage label has been an imprint of an original artwork created specifically for this purpose by famous artists such as Salvador Dali, Miro, Chagall, Braque, Picasso, Warhol, Bacon, Balthus, Tàpies, David Hockney, and countless others who contributed to this tradition.

​

In 1933, the Baron purchased the neighboring Château Mouton-d'Armailhacq. In 1989, the property was renamed Château d'Armailhac (5th Growth) by his wife, Baroness Philippine. Part of the reason for the purchase was that the estate came with a negociant firm known as Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A.

​

In 1970, Baron Rothschild added another 5th Growth estate to their holdings in Pauillac when they acquired Château Clerc Milon (5th Growth), located close to Mouton Rothschild's vineyards.

​

Over time, the young Baron became confident that Château Mouton Rothschild was as good as any of the 1st Growth wines. In the original 1855 classification, Château Mouton Rothschild achieved 2nd Growth status. He made it his mission to attain the coveted 1st Growth status for Château Mouton Rothschild. And he became the only person to successfully alter the 1855 classification: Château Mouton Rothschild officially became a Premier Cru Classé (1st Growth) starting with the 1973 vintage.

​

In 1988, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild took over the leadership. She was the daughter of the Baron and had been involved in her father's work for some time before taking over. The old Baron died the same year.

While it will always be a feather in their cap that they are the only estate to have changed the classification, perhaps more importantly, Château Mouton Rothschild is the only 1st Growth still in the same family's hands since the historic 1855 classification.