Most people only know Château Mouton-Rothschild by name - but not by taste.

Very few wine lovers can regularly pour this legendary Bordeaux into their glasses.

Because this red wine is very, very expensive.

A current vintage already costs around 600 euros per bottle, older wines are much higher.

Anyone who still wants to get an idea of ​​what the top-quality château, which has become an international wine company decades ago, fills its bottles with, should try an Escudo Rojo.

Marco Dettweiler

Editor in business.

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What does this wine from Chile have to do with the famous French house? The red label gives an indication. At the bottom is the name "Baron Philippe de Rothschild" - this is both the name of the company that produces the Château Mouton-Rothschild and of the man to whom the winery owes its reputation. Philippe de Rothschild achieved, among other things, that the château was certified as Premier Cru in 1973. His daughter Baroness Philippine de Rothschild took over the house in 1988, and about ten years later she set out for Chile to set up a new 60 hectare winery in the Maipo Valley, and in 1999 the Escudo Rojo brand was born .

Chile was discovered as a cultivation country by well-known winemakers from Europe and America in the early 1990s. In the South American country, the vineyards are located between the Pacific in the west and the Andes in the east, so that depending on the location of the vineyards, the climate of the coast or that of the mountains has more influence. The soils are also sometimes very different. The Valle de Maipo is bounded in the north by a mountain range and in the south by the rejuvenation of the valley. Towards the Pacific, mountains prevent the cool air from drawing into the valley from the Pacific, so the climate there is warm, hot in summer and mostly dry. Despite the large temperature differences between day and night, which are ideal for white wine growing, mainly red grape varieties are cultivated, especially Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes up over half of the area.

Tannins in the background

In contrast to the mother château in Bordeaux, Escudo Rojo offers a broader range: wines made from the white Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay varieties, a red from the Carménère variety, which is very popular in Chile, a red cuvée and three single-varietal drops from Cabernet Sauvignon.

The prices range between eleven and 20 euros.

The Baronesa P., a homage to Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, is an outlier at a good 40 euros.

The focus of the oeuvre is the Cuvée Gran Reserva and the Cabernet Sauvignon Origine.

The Gran Reserva gets its Chilean touch from its high proportion of Carménère, with almost 40 percent this variety is almost as present in the blend as Cabernet Sauvignon, while Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot play a subordinate role.

The wine is initially cool on the nose.

But its pleasing, full-bodied side quickly appears in the mouth.

Red berries push forward, there is a lot of fruit with a not unpleasant, slight sweetness.

Like the acidity, the tannins remain discreetly in the background.

If you drink it in a concentrated way without accompanying the meal, there are slight weaknesses in the finish and complexity, but for 13 euros per bottle of Gran Reserva it is still a good example of the very round and powerful red wine style, which is not atypical for Chile.

In contrast to the Cuvée, the Origine is much more self-confident.

The monovarietal Cabernet Sauvignon does not curry favor, but rather shows a clear edge with its present tannins and wood notes.

In this way he qualified as an attractive single player who can also be enjoyed beyond the dining table.

For its price of 20 euros, it is a wine with a remarkable character.