Simplicty, indeed!

South Korean artist designs Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2013 label

• Chris Mercer
• October 20, 2015

Chateau Mouton Rothschild has commissioned a South Korean artist Lee Ufan to design the label on its Bordeaux 2013 vintage first wine.

Mouton Rothschild's 2013 label design by Lee Ufan Credit: Mouton Rothschild 

Some of the world’s greatest artists have illustrated Mouton Rothschild vintages for decades and the Medoc first growth has made this an annual tradition since 1945.

Lee Ufan was chosen to create the Mouton Rothschild 2013 label and he and has opted for simplicity with a purple and red mark above the estate’s logo.

Mouton Rothschild 2013 label

Mouton Rothschild said of the design, ‘The initially indecisive purple of the drawing gradually attains its full richness, just as a great wine is patiently brought to engulfment in the secret of the vat house.’

Bordeaux 2013 was one of the most challenging vintages for the region in the past two decades, but a tasting in London last week showed that several chateaux have still made good wines – even if quantities are very small in some cases.

• SEE: More Mouton Rothschild label designs

Lee Ufan was born in a South Korean mountain village in 1936. Twenty years later, he moved to Tokyo’s Nihon University and has since built a career as an artist.

He has won the UNESCO Prize at the Shanghai Biennale in 2000 and Japan’s Praemium Imperiale in 2001, and has exhibited at the Venice Biennale, the Jeu de Paume museum in Paris and the Guggenheim and MoMA in New York.

Mouton’s association with artists designing its labels began in 1924, when Jean Carlu produced artwork for Baron Philippe de Rothschild.

Fall is on the way

But the really beautiful fall colors will not covering the Wine Country for another couple of weeks at least!

Pinot Pioneer Walter Schug Dies

Rest in Peace, Sir. The creator of Joseph Phelps Insignia, an accomplished winery owner and a lovely gentleman. My thoughts go out to his family.

© Schug Winery | Walter Schug at work in his beloved winery.

Sonoma says goodbye to one of Pinot Noir's early advocates.

By Wine-Searcher staff | Posted Tuesday, 13-Oct-2015

 

Walter Schug, the man who championed the cause of Pinot Noir in Sonoma County long before it found fame, has died at his home, aged 80, according to his family.
"He was a Pinot Noir niche person long before the movie Sideways came along and everybody was demanding it," his daughter Claudia Schuetz said. "He didn’t jump on a bandwagon. He was pushing it from the very start."
A native of Germany, Schug grew up beside the Rhine in Assmannshausen, on the region's only Pinot Noir estate. He worked his first harvest in 1953, and was an apprentice at nine different wine estates in the Rheingau region.
In 1959, after finishing his studies with a diploma in viticulture and enology at the prestigious German wine institute of Geisenheim, Schug left for California. He spent a year expanding his knowledge while working at a winery and taking extension courses at UC Davis. Two years later, he returned to California for good, with his wife Gertrud, to work as the assistant superintendent at California Grape Products Corporation.
In 1966 he joined Gallo as the family's head of grower relations and quality control for Northern California. Gallo's involvement on the North Coast meant Schug got to know more than 500 independent growers and several thousand acres of prime vineyards in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino County.
By 1973, he joined Joseph Phelps to establish Joseph Phelps Vineyards in Napa Valley, and that year began his 10 vintages as vice president and winemaker for the new enterprise. Among Schug's contributions to Napa's burgeoning fame were the first proprietary Bordeaux-Style blend (Insignia); vineyard-designated wines like Backus and Eisele Vineyards; and the first varietal Syrah in the US. He was also a pioneer of late-harvest wines.
By 1980, however, there was little call in California for Pinot Noir, and Phelps ceased production of the varietal. Reluctant to stop working with the grape of his childhood home, and firmly believing in its future, Schug came to an arrangement with Joseph Phelps that he would continue his regular work at the winery, but produce Pinot Noir under his own private label.
Three years later, his private project had grown to such an extent that he made the decision to leave Phelps and concentrate on the Schug brand. Since then the winery has grown from a 2000-case production to 30,000 cases a year. He celebrated his 50th vintage in 2003.
His wife predeceased him and the couple are survived by their three children, Axel, who is the winery's managing partner, Claudia, the company's European sales director, and Andrea Vonk, an accountant.

Talk to us about Screaming Eagle's Second Flight, Bryant and Colgin 2012!

The Vineyards of Screaming Eagle on Silverado Trail

 

“The 2012 Second Flight may be the highest scoring second wine I have ever reviewed. A blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc, it is completely different from the Screaming Eagle since the latter wine is at least 75% or more Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Merlot with only a tiny dollop of Cabernet Franc. The 2012 Second Flight offers up floral, blue and black fruit, mocha and white chocolate characteristics. It possesses full-bodied, silky flavors, and a finish that lasts 50+ seconds. It can be drunk now, but should evolve effortlessly for 12-15+ years”.   Robert Parker 96 Points

"Bryant's flagship wine, the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from the estate vineyard on Pritchard Hill offers a rare but magnificent forest floor/floral aromatic profile with lavishly rich, ripe notes of creme de cassis, blueberry and black raspberry liqueur. Fleshy, opulent, full-bodied and multidimensional, it conceals some significant tannins behind its wealth of extract and fruit. From a first-growth quality, hillside vineyard (13 acres), this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is gorgeously pure as well as impeccably well-balanced with a seamless integration of tannin, acidity, alcohol and wood. In fact, the new oak component, which is significant, is largely obliterated by the wine's stunning fruit. This majestic Cabernet Sauvignon should age effortlessly for 25-30 years".  Robert Parker 98 Points

"The seductive 2012 Proprietary Red Bettina offers up a more Margaux-like femininity compared to the overwhelming power and richness of the Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is a blend sourced from three of David Abreu's vineyards Madrona, Thorevilos and Lucia. Notes of Christmas fruitcake, underbrush, blackcurrants, black cherries, licorice and spice box emerge from this complex 2012. At this stage, it is more evolved and aromatically satisfying than the pure blue and black fruits of the Cabernet Sauvignon. Full-bodied and opulent with impeccable balance as well as purity, this wine is already hard to resist because of its surprising complexity and poise. Drink it over the next 15-20 years".  Robert Parker 96 Points

Fall has arrived in Sonoma!