A Century on the Label: Mouton Rothschild's Artist Labels Go Under the Hammer at Sotheby's
Few wine labels are as recognisable — or as collectible — as those of Château Mouton Rothschild. On 4 February 2027, Sotheby's London will devote an entire sale to them: Château Mouton Rothschild: Paintings for the Labels — 100th Anniversary Commemorative Release, a landmark auction celebrating one hundred years of the artist label, the tradition begun in 1924 when Baron Philippe de Rothschild commissioned the poster artist Jean Carlu to design the label for that year's vintage.
Drawn directly from the château's cellars, the sale brings together historic vintages — among them the first artist-label vintage of 1924 and the 2024 vintage, whose label artwork will be unveiled on 1 December 2026 — alongside large-format bottles never previously released, formats signed by the artists themselves, a barrel of the 2025 vintage, and a series of "surprise" lots created exclusively for the centenary. Selected super lots also carry an invitation to a centenary gala dinner at the château on 12 June 2027. In total, the sale is estimated at £1.9–3.1 million.
A century in bottles: the centenary vertical brings together 77 bottles and one magnum spanning 1924–2024, flanked by Jean Carlu's pioneering 1924 label. Courtesy of Sotheby's
"We wanted to celebrate the centenary of the first label illustrated by Jean Carlu in 1924 by sharing the rarest and finest bottles resting in our cellars with everyone who loves fine wine and contemporary art," says Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, CEO of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA and co-owner of the château. "This auction is not only a journey through the history of Mouton — it celebrates the profound bond between Château Mouton Rothschild and art. As it also retraces our family's history through a lineage of iconic vintages, it carries a particular significance for us, both personally and emotionally."
Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild and Camille Sereys de Rothschild — the third generation to lead the estate. © Gabriel Guibert
Five Chapters, One Hundred Years
The sale unfolds in five chapters. The Contemporary Expression opens with vintages from 2000 to 2023, bearing labels by Giuseppe Penone (2005), Anish Kapoor (2009), Jeff Koons (2010), Olafur Eliasson (2016), Xu Bing (2018), Peter Doig (2019) and William Kentridge (2020), among others. Estimates in this chapter run from around £2,200 to £240,000 for the rarest super lots, several of which have never appeared on the market before.
Centenary Celebration pairs the two bookends of the century — Carlu's 1924 original and the 2024 vintage, offered together as a super lot estimated at £20,000–40,000 — and will also present the sale's "surprise" lot, to be revealed ahead of the auction.
The Future looks forward: a barrel of Château Mouton Rothschild 2025, estimated at £75,000–150,000. Equivalent to some 300 bottles, the wine will be bottled in the format of the buyer's choice and finished with a bespoke label when it is delivered from the château in early 2028.
The barrel of Château Mouton Rothschild 2025, the centrepiece of "The Future" chapter. © Gabriel Guibert
The heart of the sale, The Artistic Dialogue, arranges the château's artistic heritage by movement. Surrealism gathers Leonor Fini (1952), Matta (1962), Joan Miró (1969) and Paul Delvaux (1985); Modernism brings together Georges Braque (1955), Pablo Picasso (1973), Georg Baselitz (1989), Francis Bacon (1990), Balthus (1993) and Lucian Freud (2006); and Pop Art is represented by four magnums — Andy Warhol (1975), Saul Steinberg (1983), Keith Haring (1988) and David Hockney (2014). Further collections trace the ram and the vine, the two motifs that recur across a century of labels.
Large formats from the contemporary chapter, several never previously released to the market. Courte Historic vintages led by the 1945 "V for Victory" vintage. Courtesy of Sotheby's Labels from the sale's contemporary chapter, 2000–2023. Courtesy of Sotheby's Four movements in four bottles — the third label is Keith Haring's design for the 1988 vintage. Cour
Large formats from the contemporary chapter, several never previously released to the market. Courtesy of Sotheby's
Historic vintages led by the 1945 "V for Victory" vintage. Courtesy of Sotheby's
Labels from the sale's contemporary chapter, 2000–2023. Courtesy of Sotheby's
Four movements in four bottles — the third label is Keith Haring's design for the 1988 vintage. Courtesy of Sotheby's
Château Mouton Rothschild 1975 by Andy Warhol — the bottle before the artist's original work for the label, kept at the château. Courtesy of Château Mouton Rothschild
The chapter's centrepiece is a vertical of 77 bottles and one magnum spanning 1924 to 2024, estimated at £150,000–300,000 — a century of wine, and of art, within a single lot. A group of large formats centred on impérials will be signed for the occasion by artists including Anish Kapoor, Gerhard Richter and Olafur Eliasson, alongside members of the family's sixth generation; half of the proceeds of these lots, estimated at £86,500–173,000, will be donated to Médecins Sans Frontières. Other selected lots will support the Musée Picasso in Paris, the Musée Soulages in Rodez, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Palace of Versailles, whose seven-bottle set gathers labels by artists who have exhibited at the palace.
Signed for the centenary: a large-format bottle bearing Olafur Eliasson's 2016 label. Courtesy of So The 1993 vintage, with a label by Balthus. Courtesy of Sotheby's The 1945 vintage — Philippe Jullian's "V" label, created to celebrate the return of peace. Courtesy
Signed for the centenary: a large-format bottle bearing Olafur Eliasson's 2016 label. Courtesy of Sotheby's
The 1993 vintage, with a label by Balthus. Courtesy of Sotheby's
The 1945 vintage — Philippe Jullian's "V" label, created to celebrate the return of peace. Courtesy of Sotheby's
The final chapter, Origins & Legacy, returns to the years before the artist labels: historic wines from 1922 onwards, led by the legendary 1945, together with super lots tracing the family's own milestones — an "Ode to the Baron", eight vintages from 1922 to 1987 spanning Baron Philippe's tenure, estimated at £30,000–60,000, and an "Ode to the Baroness", seven vintages across Baroness Philippine's lifetime, from 1933 to 2014, estimated at £9,000–18,000.
"For a century, Château Mouton Rothschild has stood at the intersection of two magnificent creative pursuits — winemaking and art," says Nick Pegna, Sotheby's Global Head of Wine & Spirits. Serena Sutcliffe MW, Honorary Chairman of Sotheby's Wine, describes it as a sale in which wine and art are more profoundly connected than in any other — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to engage with one of the most storied names in wine.
The Story on the Label
When Baron Philippe de Rothschild took over the estate in 1922, he fused his passion for art with his determination to modernise Mouton. In 1924 he took the pioneering step of bottling the entire harvest at the château, asserting the estate's responsibility for its own wine — and asked Jean Carlu, a celebrated poster designer, to create its label: the first ever designed by an artist. In 1945, to celebrate the return of peace, he placed Philippe Jullian's "V" for Victory on that year's label. The one-off gesture became a tradition: from 1946, beginning with Jean Hugo and continuing with Jean Cocteau (1947) and Leonor Fini (1952), artist friends of the family were invited to create an original work for each vintage.
Baron Philippe de Rothschild with his daughter Baroness Philippine, who succeeded him in 1988. Courtesy of Château Mouton Rothschild
Georges Braque's acceptance for the 1955 vintage opened the door to the great names of modern art — Dalí, Miró, Chagall, Picasso and Warhol among them — and the collection has grown with every harvest since. Many of the artists stayed at the château; their original works are today displayed in the exhibition space at Mouton devoted to the labels.
The exhibition space at the château devoted to the original label artworks. © puxanphoto
Baroness Philippine de Rothschild (1933–2014) carried her father's vision to new heights. In 1981 she organised a touring exhibition of the label artworks; after succeeding him in 1988, she continued to pair remarkable artists with remarkable vintages — Keith Haring among them — and, for the 2004 vintage marking the centenary of the Entente Cordiale, secured a watercolour by the then Prince of Wales, now King Charles III. Since 2014, her children — Camille Sereys de Rothschild, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild — have continued the tradition, the artists still chosen by the family, in the spirit of Baron Philippe's creed: "Vivre la Vigne" — to live the vine.
The vineyards of Château Mouton Rothschild at Pauillac, in the Médoc. © Pierre Grenet
Château Mouton Rothschild: Paintings for the Labels — 100th Anniversary Commemorative Release takes place at Sotheby's in London on Thursday, 4 February 2027, at 1:00 pm GMT. The artist behind the 2024 vintage label — the wine that completes the century — will be revealed on 1 December 2026.
