xu lei

Chinese painter Xu Lei Creates Chateau Mouton Rothschild Label

Filed under: Wine, Art

Showcasing 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.

Gallery: Chateau Mouton Rothschild Labels