Château Mouton Rothschild

Un château à voir absolument. Que de beaux paysages, de belles choses, et des choses très intéressantes à savoir. Très bien guidée et excellente visite pour notre sortie entre étudiants organisée par l’un de nos camarades.

Mouton Rothschild is one of the few grand cru estates with a specially designated visitors center and an appointment tasting begins with a video narrated by Baroness Philippine.
The château’s heritage begins around 1850, when Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild settled in Paris and in 1853, he purchased Ch. Brane Mouton in order to serve his friends his own wine. The estate was renamed «Château Mouton Rothschild». In 1922, the Baron’s grandson, Philippe de Rothschild took control of the estate and it was his lifelong passion to elevate Ch. Mouton Rothschild from a second growth to a first growth vineyard. As part of his effort, the Baron started the practice of estate bottling (Mise en bouteille au Château). Eventually, estate bottling became a quality standard and is now required that all first growth wines to be made from grapes grown & bottled on the property of the winery.
In 1973, the Baron’s efforts were realized and Ch. Mouton Rothschild joined the ranks of Premier Grand Cru. Baron Philippe died in 1988 at the age of 86 to be succeeded by his daughter Baroness Philippine. Since then, Baroness Philippine has worked closely with the executive directors to maintain, modernise and develop the family business.
Ch. Mouton employs traditional French vinification techniques: fermentation is 3 weeks in oak vats, ageing is 18 to 24 months in new French oak barrels and fining is with egg whites.
The guided group tour includes the French oak vat room, the chai, the private 60,000 bottle cellar, as well as a special tour of the Rothschild family’s private museum (no photos allowed). The Rothschilds have a passion for art and their private collection includes Greco-​Roman artifacts, as well as a concentration of 17^th and 18^th century fine art and antiquities. Notably, there is a golden ram that served as the model for the Ch. Mouton 2000 bottle engraving, as well as the figural statues that served as the models for the Ch. Clerc Milon and Ch. d’Armailhac labels.
Our tour concluded with a generous barrel tasting of Ch. d’Armailhac, Ch. Clerk Milon and Ch.Mouton. There are no direct sales at the estate; however, a few souvenirs are sold at the visitors center (eg, posters, shirts, coffee table books).

Ch. Mouton Rothschild is not truly a First Growth. While it may have been the star of a vintage or two in the past century, it cannot really compete with the heavyweights such as Lafite or Margaux.
In comparison to the greats, Mouton uses higher yields per acre, younger vines and stronger marketing to make up for the quality lost. Many prefer its less expensive and more reliable neighbour winery Duhart Millon.
Mouton is open to public visitors by appointment. The château is a rarity in that it does not have caved cellars. Its cellars (strangely for Bordeaux) are above ground. So the first thing you’ll notice is that it looks like a warehouse.
The château conduct reasonably interesting tasting tours of the property. Try to avoid the video presentation unless you are a complete novice — it will ruin your day with useless brainwashing.