Bordeaux first-growth Château Mouton-Rothschild has revealed the label for the 2023 vintage of its grand vin, featuring a drawing by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos. Mouton’s tradition of commissioning a new work by a contemporary artist for its label dates to 1945. In the decades since, the label has become a beloved (and highly collectible) symbol of the enduring connection between art and wine.
The drawing, Paraíso, is a stylistic departure for Vasconcelos, who is known for her large-scale, site-specific installations that often incorporate elements of performance art. She has exhibited at the Venice Biennale, the Palace of Versailles, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and elsewhere.
The colorful drawing depicts a central cluster of grapes surrounded by earth, water, the sun and the stars. Purple and white triangles nod to the involvement of human hands in the winemaking process. (It’s an apt allusion: Vasconcelos has long engaged with crochet, sewing and other handcraft traditions in her work.) Notably, the label marks the first time a Portuguese artist has contributed the featured artwork.
[article-img-container][src=2025-12/un_mouton-label-2025-120925_1080.jpg] [caption= Vasconcelos wanted the label to symbolize the partnership between people and nature.] [credit= (Courtesy of Château Mouton-Rothschild)] [alt= The 2023 label of Château Mouton-Rothschild.] [end: article-img-container]
“I felt very privileged and honored to be a part not only of a great name, but also of the ensemble of great artists that have participated in previous editions of this project,” said Vasconcelos, in a statement. “My inspiration for the label were the grapes and vines and the naturalistic aspect of the Château Mouton, meaning nature. Paraíso (Paradise) is a work inspired by the idea of perfection, of luxury, and the coherence between nature and man.”
Recent labels have included a tribute to Baron Philippe de Rothschild by French artist Gérard Garouste, a whimsical reflection on the connection between humanity and nature by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota and a vineyard dreamscape by British painter Peter Doig. Through the decades, many legendary figures—including Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon, Salvador Dalí and Marc Chagall—have contributed artworks.
Mouton co-owner Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, who oversees the estate’s artistic partnerships, explained what drew him to Vasconcelos: “Joana Vasconcelos uses everyday, traditional materials like embroidery or crochet to create artworks that explore contemporary issues such as feminism in a monumental, baroque, occasionally provocative, humorous and engaged way. She grounds Portugal’s craft heritage in modernity. I really like that link between art and craft because it’s what we have here at Château Mouton-Rothschild, the result of high-level craftsmanship and at the same time a work of art, because each vintage is unique, rare and hence precious.”
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