Elite Traveler Summer 2023

LEADERS IN LUXURY WINE

This image Mouton Rothschild 2000 Opposite page Mouton Rothschild 1982

Communicating luxury

Not long ago, I was sitting on a red velvet couch in a historic Bordeaux château, surrounded by paintings and sipping a rare old vintage of the estate’s fabulously expensive red wine. I felt privileged to be drinking the history of a family’s commitment to a special piece of land. The experience made me realize that hanging a high price tag on a wine is not enough to propel it into the realm of luxury, no matter howyoude fi ne that word. It means di ff erent things to di ff erent people, but one key requirement is the highest level of quality. For me, what also adds prestige is a wine’s scarcity, its sense of place and its links to heritage, tradition and a real family. In other

words, luxury goes — or should go — beyond marketing hype. A long-term perspective and aesthetics matter. The bottle, label and story behind a wine need to underscore an aura of style, opulence and exclusivity to stir emotions. But today, in the face of climate change, there’s something more. As Nicole Rolet, co-owner of Provence winery Chêne Bleu, once said: “Sustainability is the ultimate luxury for the person who has everything.” Dozens of estates are leaders in this exalted wine sphere, as are a handful of companies like Moët Hennessy. My choice of the eight seen on these pages communicate luxury brilliantly, yet in di ff erent ways.

by ElinMcCoy