From Peter Niederhauser
, at 18. December 2012 14:34
Every year since 1945, a great artist has created an original artwork for the Château Mouton Rothschild label. Thus, on the initiative of the Château’s owners, the most famous names are brought together in a collection to which a new work is added each year. The commission to illustrate the 2010 vintage was given by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild to the American sculptor Jeff Koons, born in York (Pennsylvania) in 1955 and a leading figure of contemporary art.
In the vein of Pop Art and kitsch, Koons takes familiar objects and uses a wide variety of techniques to illuminate them with colours, distort and recreate them. For a time he was the world’s most expensive living artist, while the exhibition of his works at the Château de Versailles in 2008 aroused high passions. Koons also revisits Antiquity, as with this Birth of Venus, a fresco from Pompeii, which his silver drawing turns into a Venus with Vessel – both the cup which holds and the ship which, under a bright sun, bears off into the distance an exquisite wine…Surely Mouton Rothschild 2010!
A Premier Cru Classé, Château Mouton Rothschild comprises 84 hectares (207 acres) of vines at Pauillac in the Médoc, planted with the varieties typical of the region: Cabernet Sauvignon (83%), Merlot (14%) and Cabernet Franc (3%). This First Growth benefits from exceptionally favourable natural conditions, in the quality of the soil, the position of its vines and their exposure to the sun. Combining a respect for tradition with the latest technology, from grape to bottle it receives meticulous attention from highly skilled winemakers and vinegrowers responsible foreach parcel of the estate. The grapes are harvested by hand in small open baskets, sorted on vibrating tables and vinified in oak vats, after which the wine is matured in new oak casks.
THE 2010 VINTAGE
2010 was a dry and relatively cool year, with an ideal amount of sunshine and a few showers at just the right time, in mid-June and early September. A dry and cool spring was followed by a generally dry summer with some very hot spells. The harvest took place in excellent conditions between 28 September and 13 October. Naturally concentrated, the grapes were small and their juice, rich and highly coloured, displayed good acidity. The wine is a dark and intense red with a blueish tint. With Cabernet Sauvignon predominant, it displays a complex range of aromas. From lightly toasted vanilla notes, the nose opens with airing to reveal fruit aromas, especially blackcurrant and black cherry. Powerful and well-integrated tannins reveal exceptional depth and roundness on the palate, ending on a fresh and mineral finish. Length, elegance, harmony: Mouton Rothschild 2010 promises to be a remarkable vintage – and a worthy successor to the 2009!
JEFF KOONS
Born in York, Pennsylvania, in 1955, the American sculptor Jeff Koons went to art school in Baltimore then Chicago, where he was introduced to Pop Art and the “ready made”. Moving to New York in 1976, he worked as a commodities broker while beginning to establish himself as an artist with the support, among others, of gallery owners Daniel Weinberg and Ileana Sonnabend. He came to the attention of the general public in 1986 with his stainless steel Inflatable Rabbit, followed by the anticonsumer satire of his Luxury and Degradation series and Made in Heaven, a libertine graphic series with La Cicciolina, a provocative Italian actress who was his companion from 1991 to 1994. Proving his status as a leading figure of contemporary art, in 1997 his Puppy, a monumental dog covered in flowers, was installed at the entrance to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao; collectors snapped up his Pink Panther (1999) and Split Rocker (2000), a sculpture made with over 100,000 flowers; in 2008, his Balloon Flower (Magenta) in metal made him for a time the world’s most expensive living artist, while the exhibition of 17 of his works at the Château de Versailles aroused high passions. “The proudest moment of my life”, he declared at the time. The heir of both Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol, Koons felicitously combines the Pop Art tradition with the kitsch aesthetic, whence his fondness for taking familiar objects and icons of popular culture and using a wide variety of techniques to illuminate them with colours, distort, appropriate and recreate them. He also revisits Antiquity, as with this Birth of Venus, a famous fresco from Pompeii, which his silver drawing turns into a Venus with Vessel – both the cup which holds and the ship which, under a bright sun, bears off into the distance the most exquisite of wines… Surely Mouton Rothschild 2010!
PAINTINGS FOR THE LABELS
Every year since 1945, the Château Mouton Rothschild label has been illustrated with an original artwork by a great contemporary painter. In 1924, to salute his first vintage bottled entirely at the château, Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988), Baroness Philippine’s father, asked the famous poster designer Jean Carlu to create the Mouton label. Ahead of its time, it remained an isolated initiative. In 1945, this time to celebrate the return of peace, he decided to crown the label for the vintage with the “V” for Victory, drawn by the young painter Philippe Jullian. From this exceptional circumstance a tradition was born and, from 1946, every year a different artist was invited to create an original artwork for the label. Initially, Baron Philippe chose painters from amongst his friends, such as Jean Hugo, Léonor Fini and Jean Cocteau. In 1955, Georges Braque agreed to illustrate the vintage, and he was succeeded by the greatest artists of our time, including Dali, César, Miró, Chagall, Picasso, Warhol, Soulages, Bacon, Balthus, Tàpies, etc., forming a fascinating collection to which a new work is added each year.
Responsible for choosing the artists since the 1980s, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, the owner of Mouton, always respects their artistic freedom, though most of them are attracted by certain themes, such as the vine, the pleasure of drinking or the ram, the emblem of Mouton. The artists receive no fee for their work but are given cases of Mouton Rothschild, including of course “their” vintage. Since 1981, on Baroness Philippine’s initiative, the collection has given rise to a travelling exhibition, “Mouton Rothschild, Paintings for the Labels”, based at Mouton and shown in many museums throughout the world.
ABOUT PHILIPPINE DE ROTHSCHILD
Baroness Philippine de Rothschild is the owner, with her children, of three great Châteaux at Pauillac in the Médoc: Château Mouton Rothschild, Premier Cru Classé, Château d’Armailhac and Château Clerc Milon. She is Chairman of the Supervisory Board and majority shareholder of the family company, Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA, the leading exporter of AOC Bordeaux wines which, among other branded wines, produces and markets the famous Mouton Cadet. Philippine de Rothschild spent her childhood in France during the Second World War. Her father, Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988), had joined General de Gaulle in London; meanwhile her mother was deported to Ravensbrück, where she died in 1945. Philippine herself miraculously escaped death.
In love with the theatre, she graduated from the Paris Conservatoire National d’Art Dramatique in 1958 and was engaged by the Comédie Française. After a first marriage with the actor and director Jacques Sereys, she married the scholar and writer Jean-Pierre de Beaumarchais. Her three children, Camille, Philippe, Vice-Chairman of the family company, and Julien, were born in 1961, 1963 and 1971. She continued her stage career after leaving the Comédie Française. In particular, between 1973 and 1980 she played one of the leading roles in “Harold and Maude” with Madeleine Renaud. She subsequently became increasingly involved in the life of Mouton and the family business. In 1981, she created the travelling exhibition “Mouton Rothschild, Paintings for the Labels”, which brought the original artworks created by famous painters for the Mouton labels to a worldwide audience.
On her father’s death, Philippine de Rothschild assumed all his duties and responsibilities. Since then, she has raised ever higher the star of Mouton, an illustrious wine and a prime tourist attraction. With infectious energy, she has modernised the facilities of the family company, extended its product range and made it commercially more effective, and successfully established it in several major winegrowing regions in France and abroad, producing both premium and branded wines.
· Premium wines: at Mouton, the creation of a Mouton Rothschild second wine, Le Petit Mouton, and a premium white wine, Aile d’Argent; the construction in 2012 of a new vat house combining tradition and modernity. At Clerc Milon, entirely cladded with ipé wood, the construction of a new barrel hall. In California, the inauguration in 1991 of a magnificent semi-circular winery at Opus One. In Chile, the creation of a premium red wine, Almaviva, with a bodega built of noble wood; and in Languedoc, the creation of another red wine, Domaine de Baron’Arques.
· Branded wines: the inauguration of the Mouton Cadet Winery at Saint-Laurent-Médoc and the creation of premium brands, including the Cuvées des Barons et Baronnes and Mouton Cadet Réserve. In Pays d’Oc, the launch of a range of varietal wines. In Chile, the launch of Chilean varietals, plus a prestige brand, Escudo Rojo red and white. Baroness Philippine de Rothschild is an Officier de la Légion d’Honneur and an Officier des Arts et des Lettres.
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