Château Mouton Rothschild 2022

Bordeaux first growth Château Mouton Rothschild has unveiled its highly anticipated 2022 label design yesterday. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Philippe de Rothschild’s helm at the family estate the 2022 label features an original artwork by the French artist Gérard Garouste paying tribute to the baron.

To illustrate the deep connection between Château Mouton Rothschild and its long-time owner, Garouste depicted the estate’s symbolic front wall and a vine with grapes, framed by a portrait of Philippe and a ram, his emblematic animal. “I wanted to pay tribute to that story, to his respect for wine, which is also a tribute to nature as it is given to us,” he said.

The painting was inspired by the conversation between the artist and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, the grandson of Philippe who currently co-owns the estate. “He showed me lots of photos, and the man’s physical presence really spoke to me as a painter. It was clear that I had my model,” Garouste recalled of his discussions with Julien during the creation process.

“I was greatly attracted by his character, not least because elegance is something I set great store by,” Garouste continued, “Baron Philippe was a man of great elegance, very hard-working, and he had the look of someone very sure of himself, with a mischievous side. That is what I have tried to capture in the way I have portrayed him.”

Garouste appreciates the aesthetic value and cultural significance of Philippe’s well-known emblem. “I find it fascinating that Baron Philippe chose the ram’s head as a symbol, as it features in both Greek and biblical mythology,” he said.

Julien lauded the artwork as a well-curated representation of his grandfather’s journey with the estate. “Gérard Garouste’s painting can be read like a kind of heraldic banner: it needs to be deciphered,” he said, “for me, the label tells the story of a metamorphosis,”

“It all starts with an encounter: that of Baron Philippe with the front wall, which has always been a singular feature of Mouton Rothschild,” Julien continued, “From that encounter sprang a symbol which expresses and transcends them both: the ram, the dual embodiment of Baron Philippe, whose astrological sign was Aries, and of Mouton Rothschild, reflecting both its name and its vital energy.” 

Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, Gerard Garouste, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Camille Sereys de Rothschild 

Driven by his passion for art, Philippe invited painters each year from 1945 onwards to create a unique label design for Château Mouton Rothschild. The artists he invited included Georges Braque, Salvador Dali, and Pablo Picasso.

Continuing the tradition he started, the 2022 label celebrates the centenary of his arrival at the estate—a celebration he questioned might occur in his autobiography, Vivre la Vigne, published in 1981.

In addition to being a winery owner and art lover, Philippe, versatile in art and sport, was also known as a race car driver, a sailor, a film producer, and a poet.

Gérard Garouste was born in 1946 and has lived in Normandy and Paris. Notably, he is a postmodern artist known for his figurative mythological paintings. Having worked for Le Palace, a theater and nightclub in Paris, Garouste showcases his expertise in scenic design.

Château Mouton Rothschild 2022 (En Primeur)

10 cases – 6 x 75cl in OWC @ £669.00bt

6 cases – 1 x 1.5ltr in OWC @ £1.350mg

1 case – 1 x 3ltr in OWC £2.950dbl/mg

1 case – 1 x 6ltr in OWC @ £5.750imp

Lying in Bordeaux

 “A brilliant wine that likely sits somewhere between the 2019 and 2020 in quality, the 2022 Mouton Rothschild is a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot. Unwinding in the glass with complex aromas of minty cassis, cigar wrapper, violets and subtle hints of loamy soil, it’s full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a layered core of fruit and a fleshy, elegantly muscular profile. Broad-shouldered and seamless, it concludes with a long, resonant finish. This year the grand vin represents some 49% of the estate’s production.” 100/100pts