1996 Château Mouton Rothschild, 12-bottle Lot, Wood Case

Chateau Mouton Rothschild is legendary estate. It was purchased in 1853 by Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild and in 1924 his successors became the first Bordeaux vignerons to introduce estate bottling. Although the chateau was not selected as one of the four First Growth Chateaux in the historic 1855 classification, Mouton Rothschild was elevated from a second growth to first growth in 1973, the only chateau ever to be moved from the second to first classification. The Rothschild talent for marketing and innovation also resulted in the wine industry’s first high-profile label design program. Since 1945 the chateau has each year commissioned a famous artist to design the label. The list of contributors includes Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol. In Pauillac Mouton has 205 acres under cultivation, which includes 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. On average the vines are nearly 50 years old. Annual production is 300,000 bottles of Chateau Mouton Rothschild.

Pauillac is Bordeaux’s most famous appellation, thanks to the fact that it is home to three of the region’s fabled first-growth châteaux, Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothschild and Latour. Perched on the left bank of the Gironde River north of the city of Bordeaux, Pauillac is centered around the commune of Pauillac and includes about 3,000 acres of vineyards. The Bordeaux classification of 1855 named 18 classified growths, including the three above mentioned First Growths. Cabernet Sauvignon is the principal grape grown, followed by Merlot. The soil is mostly sandy gravel mixed with marl and iron. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that “the textbook Pauillac would tend to have a rich, full-bodied texture, a distinctive bouquet of black currants, licorice and cedary scents, and excellent aging potential.”