The Auswine Forum

I went for a stroll in Double Bay the other day, for a relaxing shopping day with my wife and in a liquor store I came across a stunning bottle of wine. It was so beautifully designed that I just stood there mesmerised for several minutes. It was a bottle of CHATEAU MOUTON ROTSCHILD 2000 for AU $1245. Right beside it lay a long time favourite of mine, Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 2000 for a mere AU $440. I am yet to taste any of these wines but having read about them many times over it may well be that the Pichon is the better wine of these two Pauillac's, according to the reviews. But that's not the point.
More than a decade ago when I was new to wines, I bought bottles mostly based on impulse just by looking at their labels. Later I purchased wine on the recommendations of liquor store staff or wine writers. Nowadays I spend money on wines that I've tasted. A pretty label does not trick me anymore.
But the Mouton made me think. It would be very hard to resist this bottle black as night with gold embossing, really there is no label, only engraving of the magical name, crest and a ram creature. (Word has it that the Rotschilds used 5 kgs of real gold for this vintage release!) I truly felt like buying it! The only thing that stopped me was the price. I thought I was immune to these sort of label desires by now but clearly, I wasn't. I remember back in the early 90's when I first saw the label of the St.Emilion Grand cru CHATEAU CADET-PIOLA featuring a 19th century romantic couple having a picnic behind the vineyard with the genleman offering his wine bottle to the lady while her bosom clearly showing! A great label, I thought and bought the Cadet.
And the wine? Well, I no longer remember the vintage but it was pretty average. An other label I remember buying just on looks, was the newly released Yellowglen 'Y' sparkling back in 1994. I thought it looked very stylish and attractive at the time.

What about you guys? Did you ever buy a wine only because the label captured your imagination?
Cheers,
Attila

There are many beautiful wine labels out there. Rousseau's Chambertin I particularly like, for it old-fashioned elegance and romanticism.

As for the 2000 Mouton and Pichon-Lalande, don't be fooled thinking the Mouton is all beautiful packaging (which it undoubtedly is) and not much substance. The wine is of the highest quality, although Mouton have had a string of great vintages lately (95, 96, 98, 00, 01 and 02).

Whether it justifies its prices...!

The price of the Bordeaux was reasonable until Parker visited the region and tasted the vintage. Since then the price has gone silly. Recently, a bottle of Cheval Blanc Grand cru was selling for $1750+... how do you justify this.

On the subject, Label does not get my attention much. I don't frequent bottle shop much and I pretty much know what I want to buy when i walk into the liquor store.

I am more concerned with the content than packaging.

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Hard to go past Mouton Rothschild, especially the 2000.

Personally, my favourite is Pomerol's Lafleur (simple, elegant, minimalist) but I also love Petrus, Pichon-Baron, and the understatement of Lafite. I also love Wild Duck Creek's Duck Muck label with duck feet over it (only an Aussie would get away with it!)

Worst - Trotanoy, despite it being one of my favourite wines. Ang Grange is pretty ugly too.

Agreed the Mouton 2000 is ornate.
From AUS can't go pass the "Trevor Jones Wild Witch" but the content is a different story altogether

For clever marketing and a great label I love the Mornington Peninsula's Ten Minutes by Tractor - combining the roman numeral "X" and the tyre print of a tractor.

Pretty smart wine to back it up as well, which is what it is all about after all.

Also, LZ Tempranillo , has a fascinating label - paricularly for an Old World wine. Crazy hand dropping from the sky, with a similar imagary for its big brother.

The label on the Angel's Blend from Passing Clouds is a little work of art and the wine quite fine too!

Of unattractive labels, I'm glad Dietmar said it first, the Grange is ugly. The 1996 will feature in my Top 10 2003 as a great wine but the fact remains, every time I look at the label, reminds me of a Hungarian doctor, who created his own winelabels on his typewriter.
I don't know if anyone noticed but the new St.Henri's front label looks like a back label, not a pretty one either.
Cheers,
Attila

Attila,

The Cadet Piola has always been one of my favourite labels too!

The prices for the 2000 firsts in Australia is ridiculous though. I was seeing this wine for 25,000-35,000 yen in Japan. Even if you bought full retail here in Tokyo and paid a further 50% tax to take it into Oz you are getting a better deal. Madness!