For me, the Rousseau Chambertin label is the most beautiful - followed by the old von Schubert (Maximin Grunhauser) labels.
That said, I would also give credit to Domaine de la Romanee Conti for the most powerful statement and probably- from a marketing perspective- the finest labels ever. Years ago, long before I knew a thing about burgundy or had even heard of DRC, I still remember the first time I saw that label in a wine case. Even before looking at the price, I just instinctively knew I was looking at something very, very special.
When I created Norlin (my company that does luxury accessories including ostrich wine bags), I spent 2 days picking out the font and font size for our name. The DRC label is so very simple in many ways- but I know from experience it takes some serious work to get such a simple design to convey so much meaning.
I love Martin Muellen’s recent labels based on an inset of the 1868 Trier district tax map. I grabbed this from his website, so there is a band showing part of the website and the word “Philosophie” that would normally be brown bottle.
I don’t post on wines I import, but this is not a tasting note.
This is certainly not the most beautiful label, but I think it’s lovely. It was used by the grower from the late 1800s until the 1950s. They showed it to me on one of my first visits in the early '80s and I asked them to resurrect it. The original text is gone on the current label, replaced by legal bumf. But I’ll post the label, with the original text (translated into English) underneath.
“From the chancery, I discovered the slopes and the vineyard of Montavril, where the wine is renowned”.
Abbe de Courtpee, 1715
Lopez de Heredia for its classical aesthetic
Gut Oggau for its modern panache
La Turque for its kaleidoscopic palate
Rousseau Chambertin for its prominence