After some 50 years of lobbying by the late, great Baron Philippe de Rothschild; Mouton was finally elevated to 1st Growth status in 1973. Armed with serious aspirations, Baron Philippe de Rothschild purchased the property in 1922 from his great grandfather and immediately set about making significant changes to the estate. In 1924 he introduced Chateau bottling, in 1926 he built the property's famous grand chai and, in 1933, he bought the neighbouring property of Chateau d'Armailhac. Along with his aspirations for the estate, Baron Philippe was also armed with some serious commercial nous and, in 1945, he began commissioning artists to do an annual painting depicted at the top of the label. With artists such as Picasso, Warhol, and Prince Charles contributing, these unique labels have added to the collectability of Mouton. Chateau Mouton Rothschild spans around 90 hectares of vines just a little way north west of the village of Pauillac, planted on extremely poor gravel-dominated soils which in truth would support almost no other crops. The gravel mix of pebbles and stones, which lies to a depth of several metres over a clay-limestone base, allows perfect natural drainage while maintaining some heat capture and sun reflection off the stones to aid ripening of the berries. The topography of the land, which is a series of small hillocks generally less than 40 metres in height, influences both this natural drainage and also sun exposure to the benefit of the vineyards. Interestingly enough the name “Mouton’ does not relate to the animal but to two old French terms – ‘motte’ or ‘mothon’ meaning rise or mound. The run from 2010 to 2019 shows Mouton right back its very best and the future looks extremely exciting.
