In 1922 Philippe de Rothschild was only twenty years old when he took over the operations of the Château Mouton Rothschild’s vineyards and two years later, in 1924, for the first time, a vintage of Mouton Rothschild is bottled at the Château, a revolutionary step that the other great Bordeaux’s Châteaux would follow. Previously, the Châteaux sold their wines in bulk, leaving the maturing, bottling, labeling and marketing to be handled by the wine merchants. Philippe de Rothschild's idea was to maintain control over the quality of his product and allow marketing of the brand name. That is why he asked one of his friends, Jean Carlu, to draw the label of the vintage 1924. As this idea did not really succeed, he did not do it again until 1945. To celebrate the victory of the Allies and to mark the return of his property, sequestrated by the Vichy government, the Baron Philippe asked Philippe Jullian to illustrate the Mouton Rothschild label, which he did, with the V of victory. The initiative was a success and, with only two exceptions, every year since then a different painter - such as Jean Cocteau, Leonor Fini, Henry Moore, Marie Laurencin, Georges Braque, Salvador Dalí, Jacques Villon, Pierre Alechinsky, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, César, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Andy Warhol, and other notables - has provided a design, creating a fascinating collection of original artworks by some of the greatest names in contemporary painting. In 1973, by order of the Minister of Agriculture, Château Mouton Rothschild became the only French vineyard to ever achieve reclassification to First Growth, thanks to decades of relentless lobbying. The Mouton motto then became “First I am, second I was, I Mouton do not change”. Since 1988 and the death of the Baron Philippe, the Baroness Philippine has worked closely with the executive directors to maintain, modernize and develop the family business. Family keen on wines and on its culture, the Rothschild family purchased in 1970 the Clerc Milon castle, fifth classified vintage. In 1934, the Baron Philippe de Rothschild also purchased the totality of the shares of the château d’Armailhac and so became owner. Inside this castle, thanks to its dependences, will be accommodated the technical and agricultural equipments necessary to its operation and of the château Mouton Rothschild. Since 1993, the family produces a second wine, Petit Mouton, selection of the youngest vines of Mouton Rothschild. In September 2006, Mouton Rothschild became the most expensive wine of the world. At the time of an auction sale, at Christie' S in Beverly Hills, a batch of magnums 1945 has been sold at the price of 272.000 €. (Earlier, a batch of 6 magnums of Romanée Conti 1985 has been sold at a price of 134.315 €). Located in the commune of Pauillac, from which it draws its name, its wines are the great classic of the area of Medoc.
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