The 2022 Château Mouton Rothschild Label Is Here — As Created By Gérard Garouste

Photo Credit: Chateau Mouton Rothschild

Baron Philippe de Rothschild wondered in his autobiography Vivre la Vigne, published in 1981, whether anyone would think to celebrate the centenary of his arrival at Château Mouton Rothschild. His question has been answered: the label for Château Mouton Rothschild 2022, illustrated with an original artwork by the French artist Gérard Garouste, whose work is rooted in western culture, the legacy of the old masters and the myths that are the springboard for his work on “dismantling images and words,” is the tribute that Baron Philippe had hoped for.

Photo Credit: Chateau Mouton Rothschild

Baron Philippe de Rothschild took the helm of the estate in 1922, and to celebrate the anniversary of
a founding moment in its history, Gérard Garouste created a heraldic banner for Mouton Rothschild, its front wall framed by a portrait of Baron Philippe and a ram, his well-known emblem.

Photo Credit: M. Anglada

Gérard Garouste drew his inspiration from conversations with Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild and from the photographs of Baron Philippe he was shown. After playing with various ideas in his sketchbooks, the idea of a portrait of Baron Philippe, accompanied by the symbols of the ram, the front wall and the vine, soon came to the fore.

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Garouste

The work took shape as a gouache which he naturally chose to call hommage au Baron Philippe. “It was really my discussions with Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild that inspired me; I wanted to know more about his grandfather’s amazing life. He showed me lots of photos, and the man’s physical presence really spoke to me as a painter. It was clear that I had my model. I was greatly attracted by his character, not least because elegance is something I set great store by. Baron Philippe was a man of great elegance, very hard-working, and he had the look of someone very sure of himself, with a mischievous side. That is what I have tried to capture in the way I have portrayed him. I find it fascinating that Baron Philippe chose the ram’s head as a symbol, as it features in both Greek and biblical mythology. The front wall is a symbol for Mouton Rothschild. I also included the fruit of the vine, and all the symbolism of a wonderful wine that was his life’s work. I wanted to pay tribute to that story, to his respect for wine, which is also a tribute to nature as it is given to us.”

Photo Credit: Bertrand Huet