Bernar Venet, a French sculptor best known for his work in industrial steel, has designed the label for the 2007 vintage of Mouton Rothschild.
The design is said by the chateaux to suggest the swell of the barrel as well as evoking “chalices routed in the earth and open, like vinestocks, to the precious gifts from above”.
In a series that started in 1945, the Bordeaux First Growth commissions a different artist to design the upper part of the label each year. Vernet joins a list that includes Picasso, Dali, Miró, Warhol, Francis Bacon, Lucien Freud and the Prince of Wales.
Bernar Venet (Photo: Pat Verbruggen)
The artists are not officially paid for the commission but receive a gift of ten cases of Mouton Rothschild for their efforts, half of which will be from 'their' vintage. In this respect, Venet has proved rather less fortunate that his immediate predecessor Lucien Freud.
Freud was the lucky recipient of a wine rated as 98+ by Robert Parker – who described it as “sensational” and “utterly profound”. In contrast, the 2007 received a score of 90-94 (although this is rather good for the vintage) and declined to supply a tasting note. The final scores for the vintage will be released in early summer.
The chateaux’s managing director Herve Berland stayed tight lipped on the possibility of the chateaux having commissioned a Chinese artist to supply the label for the 2008 vintage. He informed Decanter that "no decision had been made and that, in any case, there would be no announcement until the end of 2010 at the earliest".
Liv-ex members looking to pick up Mouton 2007 ahead of it becoming physical will find ample supply on the Liv-ex Fine Wine Exchange.
