How Mouton Rothschild and David Hockney joined forces

The next-generation family members at the head of Château Mouton Rothschild have held a special event with David Hockney in London to officially reveal the artist's sketches for the Mouton 2014 wine label.

All three children of the late Baroness Philippine de Rothschild joined David Hockney and guests at a ceremony at Spencer House on Friday evening 3 February.

They revealed Hockney’s initial artwork that culminated in the label for Mouton Rothschild 2014.

David Hockney’s Mouton Rothschild 2014 label design.

Mouton announced Hockney as its artist for the 2014 label late last year, but that marked the culmination of many months of work.

At the Spencer House event, Decanter.com heard how Hockney initially sat down to discuss the plans with Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, one of three children of the late Baroness Philippine de Rothschild.

De Beaumarchais said that Hockney drank a beer and he ordered a glass of wine.

Look out for a feature profile and exclusive photos of Baroness Philippine’s three children, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, Camille Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild in Decanter magazine’s July 2017 issue. Subscribe in advance.

Hockney, who was in London preparing to open a large retrospective exhibition of his work at Tate Britain, was a friend of the late Baroness Philippine, who died in 2014.

He dedicated his label artwork as a tribute to her work at the Bordeaux first growth château over several decades.

De Beaumarchais was joined by his siblings, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Camille Sereys de Rothschild, at the Spencer House event.

Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, eldest son of Baroness Philippine, was in 2014 officially named as successor to his mother as chairman of the supervisory board of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA.

Spencer House mansion is owned by Earl Spencer, brother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. But it has been rented and restored by Lord Rothschild since the 1980s.

Additional reporting by Sarah Kemp, Decanter managing director, who attended the event.