Seventy years after the renowned Baron Philippe de Rothschild launched this annual artistic initiative, the tradition is still going strong. The latest release at Château Mouton Rothschild is their 2019 vintage, and this Pauillac grand cru classé is adorned with a contemporary piece by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson.
“The harmony between sun and wine”
Solar Iris of Mouton is the name given to the contemporary artwork that features so prominently on the 2019 vintage bottle from Château Mouton Rothschild. The piece is an ode to the sun and its principal role in the crafting of wine, from the growing and ripening of the grapes to the natural flow of the changing seasons. The design is strikingly sliced horizontally, evoking the horizon with golden day on one side and deep blue night on the other. Linking the two is a series of ellipses that trace the earth’s journey around the sun, with a bull’s eye at the centre to evoke the singularity of the Château itself.
How did they pick this artist?
Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, the younger son of Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, was moved by the work of Olafur Eliasson when visiting his 2016 exhibition in Versailles, putting Eliasson immediately in mind for a future label project for the left-bank château. ‘His art goes straight to what’s fundamental. The piece for Mouton Rothschild is no exception, with time, the turning seasons, and the sun right in the middle, presented as a kind of diagram.’ An interview with Eliasson details how the artwork represents ‘the cartography of all the sunrises and sunsets across a whole year at Château Mouton Rothschild. Every hour of the day and night sustaining the vine’s life cycle features in the piece.’
The artist was born in 1967 and has found global success thanks to his mastery of several disciplines, including painting, sculpture, photography, and film. After training in Fine Art in Denmark, he now works in Germany.
Whilst we wait for this new vintage to appear in the iDealwine selection, you can take a look at the other bottles we have from this prestigious Bordeaux château.
