Château Mouton Rothschild 1981 (Red)

Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild acquired the château in 1853, but the legend of Mouton did not really begin until 1922 with Baron Philippe de Rothschild. At the age of 21, full of ambition and original ideas, he decided to devote his life to forging the wine's identity and its international reputation, which, from the very beginning also had an effect on the image of Bordeaux's wines as a whole. In 1924, faced with the numerous irregular practices of Bordeaux's wine merchants, he inaugurated the bottled at the château guarantee. In 1945, to celebrate the Liberation, a V for victory crowned the label for that vintage, an initiative which marked the beginning of a series of original works created each year for the label by a famous artist. In 1973, even though no change had ever been made to the 1855 classification, Baron Philippe obtained - not without some difficulty - a revision that officially made Mouton one of Bordeaux's elite Premier Grands Crus Classés. On his death in 1998, his daughter Philippine took over the reins, assisted by an unparalleled technical team, and successfully continued her father's projects until her death in 2014. Today, her three children, Camille Sereys de Rothschild, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild run the estate together.

Château Mouton-Rothschild's exceptionally fine wine comes from the best vines on the ‘Plateau de Mouton' that makes up 90 hectares of the property. In these vineyards, the roots push deep into gravelly soil. Since we're in Pauillac, Cabernet Sauvignon is the grape that dominates the blend. Depending on the vintage, this can be up to 80%, and is completed by Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The grapes are picked by hand and, once destemmed, are put into vats. Each vat is a different size, and this corresponds to the Château's different parcels. The wine is matured for around 20 months in the Médoc tradition, meaning in totally new casks, topped up and clarified using egg whites. This method stabilises the wine by taking the solid particles to the bottom of the cask. Most of the vintages offer opulence, richness and depth, enriched by a remarkable aromatic complexity that ranges from blackcurrants to roasted coffee, mint and delicate leather. One of Château Mouton-Rothschild's specialities is its choice of a new artist every year for the creation of its label: some highlights have been Chagall, Braque, Picasso, Dali and Francis Bacon.

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