Baroness Philippine’s last label revealed

The last Château Mouton Rothschild wine label commissioned by the late Baroness Philippine de Rothschild has been revealed.

Spanish artist Miquel Barceló was chosen by the Baroness to design the 2012 label of the Bordeaux first growth’s grand vin.

The label features two rutting rams standing on their hind legs set against a watercolour background of pea green and sky blue. Majorca-born Barceló used the château’s emblem, the ram, as his inspiration for the work.

He is the latest in a long line of artists to create an original work for the château, which has commissioned contemporary artists to design its labels since 1945.

Considered one of the most influential living Spanish artists, the 57-year-old has had his work exhibited at the Paris Museum of Modern Art and the Louvre. In addition to painting, he produces sculptures, drawings and ceramics.

Among the other artists to have created a label for Mouton Rothschild are Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Georges Braque, Juan Miró, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud.

Last year, French painter and sculptor Guy de Rougemont designed the 2011 label featuring snake-like lines running the colour gamut from yellow, orange and red to blue and deep purple.

American neo-pop artist Jeff Koons designed the 2010 label for the estate featuring a silver line drawing of a ship sailing under a bright sun over a Pompeii fresco of The Birth of Venus.

Château Mouton Rothschild comprises 84 hectares in Pauillac in the Médoc. A long time art lover, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild died in August aged 80.