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chateau mouton rothschild

Chinese painter Xu Lei Creates Chateau Mouton Rothschild Label

Filed under: Wine, Art

chateau mouton rothschildShowcasing just how important the Chinese wine market is when it comes to Bordeaux, Chateau Mouton Rothschild has chosen Chinese painter Xu Lei as the artist to create the wine label for the 2008 vintage. Xu is artistic director of Today Art Museum in Beijing. His label is an ink drawing with the Mouton symbol, a ram standing between two halves of the moon covered with vines and grapes. The label represents wine as a bridge between two hemispheres. The choice of a Chinese artist has driven up the price of the 2008 vintage. Decanter reports that prices went up 20% overnight on the back of the announcement, and the wine is currently trading at around £10,000 per case. The bottle also bears the Chinese symbol for the figure eight, a symbol that is considered to be auspicious.

The Mouton Rothschild Artists label has featured a variety of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Lucien Freud and Prince Charles. Check out some examples in the gallery below.

Sotheby's Wine Auction Achieves Record Results

Filed under: Wine, Auctions

Jamie Ritchie, auctioneer, presiding over a Sotheby's wine auction.
Sotheby's auction of fine and rare wines including the 2000 Collection
on behalf of Bordeaux Winebank on November 13, was a huge success, signaling that the 2000 vintage is living up to its expectations.

Sotheby's sold all but two of the lots for a grand total of $5.4 million, well over the pre-sale estimate of $3.2 million to $4.6 million (estimates do not include the buyer's premium). Bordeaux Winebank's "2000" Collection set six wine auction records.

According to Sotheby's, there was also strong demand for wine from a number of other collections with strong prices for all of the First Growths as well as Burgandy, resulting in 64% of the sold lots achieving prices over the high estimate.

Online bidders were particularly active, with 15% of the lots sold to collectors bidding over the Internet. Nearly half of the lots offered received online bids and 55 people logged onto bid live online, which was the highest ever level of online participation in a Sotheby's Wine auction.

"We were delighted by the success of the sale---the highest value various owner wine sale ever held at Sotheby's New York," says Sotheby's Jamie Ritchie (above), Head of Wine, North America and a Luxist Awards Expert Panelist.

Sotheby's to Auction Bordeaux Winebank's "2000" Collection

Filed under: Wine, Auctions

Jamie Ritchie, auctioneer, presiding over a Sotheby's wine auction.
Sotheby's will offer an important selection of the 2000 vintage from Bordeaux Winebank, the company set up by Norwegian businessman Henning Thoresen that specializes in offering Bordeaux with the "Five Star Provenance" system. The sale celebrates the 10th anniversary of the great 2000 vintage.

A selection from the Bordeaux Winebank collection will make up a substantial part of the Finest and Rarest Wines sale on November 13th in New York with 128 lots expected to sell for between $890,500 to $1.3 million in total (not including the buyer's premium).

The auction, which will feature such wines as Chateau Lafite, Chateau Latour, Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Margaux, is expected to be one of the highest-value various-owner wine sales ever held at Sotheby's New York. The auction will take place at Sotheby's location at 1334 York Avenue at East 72nd Street in Manhattan. Sotheby's Jamie Ritchie, Head of Wine, North America (and a Luxist Awards Expert Panelist), will serve as the lead auctioneer tomorrow in New York (see photo above).

Wine 'Superlot' Sells For $320,000

Filed under: Wine, Auctions

One bidder at Skinner's recent wine sale on November 2 basically bought a wine cellar's worth of wine in one swoop of the auction paddle. The Bordeaux wine 'superlot' was comprised of 50 cases of wine including 10 cases of Chateau Haut Brion 1995-2004; 10 cases Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1995-2004; 10 cases of Chateau Latour 1995-2004; 10 cases of Chateau Margaux 1995-2004 and 10 cases of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1995-2004. The first growth Bordeaux are basically the blue chip stocks of the wine world making this an easy investment for someone interested in filling a wine cellar very quickly with some of the most famous brands. The estimate for the lot was $200,000-300,000. It sold for $320,000.

[via Paul Fraser Collectibles]

Chateau Lafite Rothschild Puts Chinese Symbol on the Bottle

Filed under: Wine

We've heard a lot recently about the growing appetite for wine, especially French wine. Decanter reports that the 2008 vintage of Chateau Lafite Rothschild (the Luxist Awards winner for Best International Red Wine) will bear the Chinese symbol for the figure eight on the bottle. The symbol is in celebration of Chateau Lafite Rothschild's partnership with CITIC, China's largest state-owned investment company on the peninsula of Penglai in Shandong province, an area said to be China's Bordeaux.

A spokesperson for Lafite Rothschild commented that the "shape of the symbol seems to offer a perfect representation of the slopes of the vineyard and commemorates the launch of our Chinese wine project." The small symbol might also help the wine be even more popular in China, the figure eight is considered very auspicious. The Decanter article also mentions the speculation that Château Mouton-Rothschild may choose a Chinese artist to design the label for its 2008 vintage.

Chateau Mouton Rothschild: A favorite of the World's Most Well-Heeled Oenophiles

Filed under: Wine

Chateau Mouton Rothschild
For a century and a half, Chateau Mouton Rothschild has been producing wine for the world's most well-heeled oenophiles – reason enough to earn the estate a Luxist nomination in the best international red wine category.

In 1850, European banking magnate Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild was looking for an impressive way to entertain high-profile guests. What could be better, he wondered, than serving them his own wine? In 1853, he purchased the Chateau Brane Mouton in Pauillac and rechristened it Chateau Mouton Rothschild; the estate was included among the fifteen estates are listed as Deuxiemes Crus in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.


After Baron Nathaniel's death in 1970, his sons showed little interest in wine, but grandson Philippe eventually filled the void, taking the estate's reins in 1922. For over half a century, he led the estate to new heights, culminating in the unprecedented decision of the French ministry of agriculture to promote Chateau Mouton Rothschild to Premier Cru status.

Today his daughter, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, continues as chairman of the family business. She has overseen a number of new developments in recent years, including a partnership with a Chilean company to produce the wine Almaviva in 1997, as well as the launch of the Languedoc wine Domaine de Baron'Arques in 2005.

Vote for the winemaker that you think is the best of breed. The voting period ends on June 30th, with winners announced on July 1, 2010.

French Sculptor Chosen For 2007 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Label

Filed under: Wine

Last year Château Mouton-Rothschild opted for artist Lucien Freud to have the honor of appearing on its famous label. Each year the esteemed French wine house choses a master artist to create a label. The pricey wine has seen works by Picasso, Francis Bacon, Warhol and even Prince Charles grace the label. This year's offering, the 2007 vintage, features an artist with less name recognition but one whose work may be familiar. Bernar Venet is a French sculptor known for his curvy steel outdoor sculptures. His label features a sketch of a sculpture forming two graceful upward arcs. As is the custom, Venet was paid not in cash but in Mouton, 10 cases, half from 2007. As Wine Spectator's Unfiltered column points out, Venet's got a lucky year, the 2007 Mouton is expected to be delicious. Check out the gallery below for a look at the history of the labels.

Aubrey McClendon Puts His Big Bottles On The Block

Filed under: Wine, Auctions

spectrum wine auctionChesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon may have sold off wine at an auction earlier this year but he still has cases and cases to go. The Wealth Report draws our attention to the "The Aubrey McClendon Collection" sale scheduled for November 21 at The St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, California. Spectrum Wine Auctions will be simulcasting the sale in Hong Kong, which appears to be where the big spenders on vintage wine are these days. The sale will feature more than 3,000 bottles and may bring in as much as $3 million.

The auction website includes a video interview of McClendon conducted by Mario Sculatti, director of sales and consignments for Spectrum Wine Auctions. McClendon has signed an Imperial of 1990 Lafite Rothschild that will be offered during the auction with commissions earned to be donated to charity on behalf of McClendon and Spectrum Wine Auctions.

McClendon's collection spans a range of the most collectible wines. Particularly prized are two bottles of 1945 Chateau Latour. McClendon also collected large format bottles. The auction offers several six-liter Imperials (the equivalent of eight standard bottles) including a 1982 Cheval Blanc in the original wood case, a 1989 Haut Brion and several vintages from Chateau Mouton Rothschild. McClendon's wine philosophy is simple: "Like anything in life, if you're going to enjoy something you really ought to try to enjoy, I think, the best of the particular pleasure that you're seeking, and so I would encourage people to go after the best wines."

Wine Thieves Walk Off With Pricey Bottle

Filed under: Wine, Crimes and Misdemeanors

1945 chateau mouton rothschildI've heard of this technique happening in jewelry stores, the classic distract and grab caper where one person distracts the salesman and other people come and and nab the jewels. This time though the jewel in question is a bottle of 1945 Chateau Mouton Rothschild worth around $20,000. A Massachusetts liquor store owner says two men walked off with the rare bottle as well as a couple of other pricey vintages while a woman kept the sales clerk busy with a serious series of questions. The Boston Globe reports that the owner of Hopkinton Wine & Spirits, Inc., has surveillance camera video of two men stealing the wine, which was kept in a cooler with other rare wines. His insurance will cover most of the loss but the owner Clelland Johnson is planning tighter security measures.

UPDATE: The wine has been returned unopened and no arrests have been made.

Top 5 Wines for Investment via Vanquish Wine

Filed under: Wine

As Wall Street continues to disappoint you may find yourself seeking alternative money-making strategies as opposed to stocks and bonds. While wine is obviously fine for enjoyment it can also act as a unique investment option. It's important to note that putting your money on fine wine does not incur a capital gains tax since it is considered a 'wasting asset' only expected to last fifty years. Your best bet is a first growth from the Bordeaux region and Vanquish Wine, a bespoke wine service for private clients, suggests these top five:
  1. Chateau Petrus
  2. Chateau Margaux
  3. Chateau Latour
  4. Chateau Mouton Rothschild
  5. Chateau Lafite
Sounds like a bottle in the hand is better than a buck in the market.

Latest Chateau Mouton-Rothschild Label

Filed under: Wine, Art

Every year since 1945 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild has had its labels designed and illustrated by different contemporary artists, including many famous names -- Prince Charles did the honors last year (yes, he apparently dabbles in watercolor). This year is no exception, and so for the much anticipated 2005 vintage Italian artist Guiseppe Penone has created the above design, which represents the growth of the vine leaf and an open hand coming in to grasp a glass of Mouton.

Although it's considered quite an honor to have the opportunity to create a label, no payment is made to the artists -- instead they're given cases of Mouton, including (of course) bottles from the year in which their label was used (a value of $170-$800/bottle).

Prince Charles Designs Mouton Rothschild Label

Filed under: Wine

The new vintage of Chateau Mouton Rothschild is always a bit of an event but this year it is even more intriguing because Prince Charles has lent his talents to the label. The Prince of Wales is also a painter and his watercolor of pine trees at Cap d'Antibes on the Cote d'Azur, was selected by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild to adorn the 2004 vintaage of Mouton Rothschild. Decnater reports that Charles is in good company, Braque, Picasso, Chagall and even Andy Warhol have had their works featured on the pricey bottles. The wine goes on sale this week and can be found for around $160.

Prized Bordeaux Brings In Over $1 Million

Filed under: Wine

As expected, those 50 cases of 1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild that were up for sale this weekend sold big. The estimate for the treasure trove of elegant Bordeaux was $ $600,000 to $1.2 million and they sold for $1.05 million. The wines were just part of Park B. Smith's cellar auction which benefitted his alma mater, Holy Cross. According to Daniel Taub of Bloomberg, the 1982 Mouton went to an anonymous European phone bidder and the auction raised $5.33 million with buyer's premium. One can only hope that the new owner will pamper the wines the way Smith did in order to make the most of the investment. Smith bought the cases in 1997 for $420,500 and given the prices on Bordeaux as of late the new owner might be able to make quite a profit of his own in a decade's time.

Park B. Smith Wine Auction

Filed under: Wine, Auctions

One of the most impressive wine auctions this fall is the sale on Saturday, Nov. 18 at Sotheby's in New York City. Park B. Smith will sell around 14,000 bottles of wine from his collection to benefit his alma mater, Holy Cross College. The sale should bring in at least $3-5 million. The big ticket item is a lot of 50 cases of Château Mouton Rothschild 1982, bought by Park B. Smith at Zachys / Christies New York in April 1997. The cases had only one previous owner and are in pristine condition making them a rare and precious commodity. The 1982 Mouton Rothschild is one of Robert Parker's 100-point wines, one that he, at a tasting this year, predicted will "peak between 2010-2015, and last for 5-6 decades thereafter." The estimate is : $600,000-1,200,000 and I'm guessing it will be toward the higher end of the range.

Chateau Mouton Rothschild at Costco

Filed under: Wine

Continuing our occasional series of amazing things that can be purchased at Costco, we happened on this opportunity to own a selection of three vintages from the prestigious Chateau Mouton Rothschild. The wines come directly from the Chateau library and were purchased for these commemorative boxes. The ’99 and ’01 vintages feature work from Raymond Savignac and Robert Wilson and the ’00 bottle, features a hand glass-etched gold ram. The set sells for $869.99.

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