🏰 Château Mouton Rothschild

Château Mouton Rothschild is a wine estate in Pauillac, in the Médoc. According to the estate, in the 18th century it belonged to the Marquis Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur and later to the Barons de Brane. In 1853 Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, of the English branch of the family, bought Château Brane-Mouton at auction, and the estate took its present name.

In 1922 Baron Philippe de Rothschild, barely 20, took charge of Mouton. According to the estate, in 1924 he decided that all the wine should be bottled at the château, and from the 1945 vintage each label has carried an original artwork by a contemporary artist. The estate’s wines include Château Mouton Rothschild, Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild and the white Aile d’Argent.

Pauillac is a protected designation of origin (PDO) for red wines made within a delimited area. Mouton was not a first growth in 1855: according to the estate, it officially joined the first growths in 1973 by ministerial decree, and the Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855 now lists it among the Premiers Crus.

Why it matters to you. A rank in the 1855 list changes only by official decision, as it did in 1973; the artwork on the label changes every year and says nothing about the wine’s category. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol.