In the mid-1920s, there had been a few bad vintages in Bordeaux and Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988) made a virtue of necessity. He created a simple wine in 1927, which he called "Carruades de Mouton", but it was a flop. In 1930, a second attempt was made with the successor "Mouton Cadet". The name part "Cadet" means "junior" or "youngest" and was named after Philippe, the youngest scion of the family. The name had a double meaning, as the Baron also wanted to express the simpler quality.
Along with several other brands such as Baron Philippe Collection, Heritage Range and Mise de La Baronnie, it belongs to the second product line after the famous Château Mouton-Rothschild, the "Branded Wines". The brand developed into the Bordeaux bestseller par excellence; from three million bottles in 1975, production has risen to 13 million bottles a year worldwide today. This means that every 2.5 seconds, a bottle of the Mouton Cadet brand is opened worldwide. The other branded wines account for nine million. Like all brand wines, the wine is produced and distributed by the Rothschild company "La Baronnie". For this, "everything", so to speak, of wines is used that are not sufficient in quality for the Grand Vins, as well as other wines from the most diverse Bordeaux areas.
![]()
The glossary is a monumental achievement and one of the most important contributions to wine knowledge. Of all the encyclopaedias I use on the subject of wine, it is by far the most important. That was the case ten years ago and it hasn't changed since.
Andreas Essl
Autor, Modena