pauillac
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Among the top Bordeaux chateaux, Mouton Rothschild has a unique tradition. Every year, it releases a newly commissioned artwork as its label for the vintage. Part of this traces to the love of art by the owners of this prestigious property, part of it is attributed to the idea of starting afresh each year with a blank slate (see bottle image without the artwork and the newly released label for the 2018 vintage).
The owners of Château Mouton Rothschild, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, Camille Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, gave the commission to the renowned Chinese artist Xu Bing. He pioneered his own style of calligraphy be presenting symbols and images in the traditional Chinese characters, also called "square word" by Chinese.
The label artwork of the 2018 vintage of Château Mouton Rothschild is titled "Mouton Rothschild". How original, one might ask. The artwork illustrates “Mouton Rothschild” in Xu’s signature “Square Word Calligraphy,”
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Posted: September 08, 2020Categories: BordeauxRead more »
This morning, Château Latour released a small quantity of its top-rated vintage of 2009. For collectors and connoisseurs, such ex-chateau release of the top vintage is the most reliable way to acquire 100 pointers. The wine is being prepared by the chateau to leave its cellar for the first time after aging in its vaulted cellar under perfect conditions for 10 years. You wouldn't find a better kept bottle anywhere else in the world. For an inside view of Château Latour's cellar, here is a picture I took on my last trip.
When the 2009 vintage was first released, Robert Parker Jr called it "a monumental wine from a monumental vintage in the Médoc, this is our children's children's children's elixir". We all love our children. But I plan to open one of the bottles in another 5-10 years, just so I can be sure of the quality of what I will be leaving behind for the children and their children one day. :-)
Tasting Notes:
"A blend of 91.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.7%
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Posted: June 04, 2019Categories: BordeauxRead more »
Pichon Comtesse de Lalande scales a new height
Her name was Virginie de Pichon Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande. She was one of the Médoc’s most illustrious characters of the 19th century. Her namesake wine is Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (AOC: Pauillac), commonly referred to as "Pichon Lalande". Its peers in Pauillac appellation include such luminous names as Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, Latour, and Pichon Baron.
It is considered a Super Second, wines classified in 1855 as Second Growths but can stand up to the quality of First Growths nowadays. On the ground, a visitor to Pichon Lalande cannot fail to notice its other half (Pichon Baron) across D-2, the dirt road that cuts through legendary wine estates in Médoc. (Background: Complex French laws on inheritance make the split of family estate among siblings a compulsory affair). Pichon Baron ended up with more land, Pichon Lalande ended up with a one-of-a-kind next
