Mouton Rothschild and Prince Charles

I’ve recently been trying to buy wine labels from the famous vineyard of Chateau Mouton Rothschild. For those of you not in the know the labels are famous in themselves in that since 1941 the chateau has featured paintings from artists as famous as Picasso, Braque, Chagall, Miro, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol and a whole lot more. The latest painter to be featured is none other than our own Prince Charles. Now forgive me for being unpatriotic but since when has Prince Charles been in the same league as Picasso and Chagall??? I cannot remember any of his paintings selling for in excess of £10million at Sotheby’s but then what do I know? Maybe the chaps at Mouton Rothschild are once again ahead of the game and know something that we don’t know. He chose a watercolour of pine trees at Cap d’Antibes on the Cote d’Azur. It’s a bit dull but I’m no expert and frankly the contents of the bottle are far more interesting to me than the label. My collection is building, although it is not as easy as I thought to collect old labels, but I will include the 2004 when I can get hold of one. I just don’t want to miss out and if I am really honest, a part of me is secretly proud to have or future monarch featured on such a King amongst wines. Let’s face it, it does give the wine a certain regal accreditation and its much better than a pen portrait of Carla Bruni in the buff by President Sarkozy don’t you think?

Cru Bourgeois

What is happening in Bordeaux? I am confused. Is the 2003 classification of Cru Bourgeois going to last? I heard that it had been abolished only 4 years after its inception. Frankly I am very confused. I liked the old classification, the wines were reliable and affordable and a great guide to amateur wine connoisseurs all over the world. I want them to go back to where they were and stop being driven by commercial motivators. These are the best wines in the world, under threat from the Americas, Eastern Europe and Australasia. I wish the french would sort themselves out and concentrate on what they do best, producing fantastic wines.