Château Mouton-Rothschild: The Labels

The first vintage of Château Mouton-Rothschild to wear a label specifically designed for this purpose was the 1924, once Baron Philippe had moved from marketing wines in barrel to château-bottling. There were definite benefits to this new practice; the Mouton-Rothschild label was intended to act as a guarantee of not just origin but also quality. Others followed suit and within half a century domaine bottling would become the norm throughout the region; following the Cruse scandal of the 1970s it would eventually become a stipulated requirement, enshrined in law in 1972.

The first label was designed by cubist Jean Carlu (1900 – 1997), and was personally signed by Philippe himself. For the next few decades there were only a few modifications to this label, otherwise it remained essentially unchanged, except for 1938, 1939 and 1940 when it went unsigned; Philippe was not there to place his mark on the labels. Having been imprisoned in Vichy at the start of World War II, he then escaped to England; his estranged wife, Elisabeth Pelletier de Chambure (1902 – 1945), was less fortunate. She died in a concentration camp.

Following the end of the war Philippe de Rothschild regained control of his estate, it having served as a military headquarters with barracks used by German troops, the product of the vineyard having been bottled under the direct supervision of Goering himself.

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