Which Mouton Rothschild labels have been the most traded by value in 2020, and how varied is demand in different parts of the world?
Every year since 1945, a famous artist has created an original artwork for the label of Chateau Mouton Rothschild. To this day, the list of commissioned artists has included the likes of Miró, Picasso, Bacon and Dali.
On December the 1st, the First Growth Chateau revealed their label for the 2018 vintage, created by the Chinese artist and writer Xu Bing. ‘Mouton Rothschild’ can be read in the artwork, which is composed of letters from the Latin alphabet that are structured and written to resemble Chinese characters.
On the day of the announcement, the Market Price of Mouton Rothschild 2018 rose 4%. New highs were set in the days that followed, peaking at 9.7% up on its release price (£5,112 per 12×75).
But the 2018 vintage has been only the sixteenth most traded Mouton Rothschild vintage by value this year.
The market’s favourites in 2020 have been 2016 (12%), 2000 (9.5%), 2010 (8.5%), 2005 (8.3%) and 2017 (8%). Regional variation by purchasing demand is reflected in the table below.
In focus: Mouton Rothschild 2016, 2000 and 2008
The outright leader in 2020, the 2016 vintage, was awarded 100 points from Neal Martin, James Suckling, Jeb Dunnuck and Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW. Despite perfect scores, prices for the wine have barely moved since release, just 0.4% (with current Market Price of £5,200 per 12×75). As previously highlighted, the wine, including many others from the Bordeaux 2016 vintage, present good value when viewed through the prism of the Liv-ex Fair Value tool (available to all Silver + Members).
The South African artist William Kentridge created its artwork, named ‘The Triumphs of Bacchus’, which depicts a series of silhouettes of Bacchus in what the first growth Château described as “a joyful procession”.
The second-most traded Mouton vintage by value in 2020, the 2000, has seen its price increase 11-fold over the past two decades. The wine last traded at £18,240 per 12×75 last week, a 1054% increase on its release price.
In what the Chateau calls “an exceptional departure from tradition”, the 2000 bottle glass is adorned with a treasure from the Museum of Wine in Art at Mouton: the little “Augsburg Ram”, a silver-gilt drinking vessel created around 1590 by Jakob Schenauer, a German master goldsmith.
The 2008 vintage, featuring a label designed by another Chinese artist, Xu Lei, has not made it into the overall top five rankings, but has been heavily in the spotlight in Asia.
Prices for the wine have risen 179% since release. They peaked at the time of the label announcement, coinciding with the China-led bull market. In January 2011, the wine traded at £8,400 per case. Earlier this month, it changed hands for £4,300 per case.
