The artist Lee Ufan.
Photo: Studio Lee Ufan Courtesy Château Mouton Rothschild

Lee Ufan, the reputed minimalist painter and sculptor, has been commissioned to design the label of the 2013 Château Mouton Rothschild wine.

For his design, the Korean artist has employed one of his signature motifs, the rectangular blot, which in this case he has rendered in a suitable burgundy color. As the press release eloquently puts it (in the jargon of wine lovers): “In [Ufan’s] work for Mouton, the initially indecisive purple of the drawing gradually attains its full richness, just as a great wine is patiently brought to fulfilment in the secret of the vat house.”

The label designed by Lee Ufan for the Château Mouton Rothschild 2013.
Photo: Courtesy Château Mouton Rothschild

Established in 1853, Château Mouton Rothschild has been commissioning outstanding artists to illustrate the label of an exclusive bottle every year for almost eight decades.

The first commissioned artist was the painter Philippe Jullian, who created a label to commemorate the “Année de la Victoire,” the liberation of France in 1945.

Each year since then, an artist has created an original design for the wine. Artists who have taken part in the tradition include Salvador Dalí (in 1958), Dorothea Tanning (in 1965), Marc Chagall (in 1970), Pablo Picasso (in 1973), Georg Baselitz (in 1989), and Lucian Freud (in 2006).

Dorothea Tanning’s 1965 label for Chateau Mouton Rothschild wine
Photo: via Chateau Mouton Rothschild

Participating artists aren’t given any monetary compensation, but they do receive a number of cases of Château Mouton Rothschild wine as a token of gratitude. Considering that the current price of a bottle of the Lee Ufan edition wine is $359, it seems like a reasonably handsome (and tasty) reward.

From left to right, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, Camille Sereys de Rothschild, Julien de Beaumarchais.
Photo: Deepix Courtesy Château Mouton Rothschild

Château Mouton Rothschild is not the only company seeking the services of artists to revitalize their packaging designs and marketing campaigns. Check our How to Party like a Collector article to discover how to get your hands on a selection of these affordable (and drinkable) works of art.