Philippe de Rothschild

Philippe de Rothschild (April 13rd 1902 - January 20th 1988) belongs to the one of the three branches of the Rothschild in France, the two others being that of Guy de Rothschild and that of Edmond de Rothschild (two bankers). It was pilot of Grand Prix under the pseudonym of “Georges Philippe”, Scénariste, Producteur of theater, Producteur of cinema, Poète, and one of the more famous Vigneron S of the world.

Youth

Born with Paris, Georges Philippe de Rothschild was the junior by wire of Henri James de Rothschild (1872-1947) (which was a playwright considered under the pseudonym of Andre Pascal) and of Mathilde Sophie Henriette von Weissweiller (1872-1926). When the First World War bursts, Philippe, then 12 years old, is sent in safety in the vineyard family of Pauillac in the Médoc. Over there, it develops are love of the countryside and the vineyard which belongs to the family activities since 1853 but for which, neither his father, nor his grandfather showed any interest.

Young man, contrasting with the aristocratic traditions of his family, Philippe de Rothschild became more than one simple personality of the good company. He was only twenty years old when he took again the exploitation of the vineyard of Château Sheep Rothschild and two years later, in 1924, advanced the idea of the setting out of bottle to the castle of the entirety of the production, an idea that other producers of Large vintages adopted then. Previously the exploitations sold approximately their wines, leaving the care of its breeding, its congestion and its labelling to the wine merchants. The idea of Philippe de Rothschild was to preserve the quality control of its product and to allow the marketing and the notoriety of name. Two years later, it developed an agreement of fixing of the prices with the other producers of large Bordeaux.

In the Years 1920, Philippe lived like a rich person playboy, accompanied by pretty women, often actresses, at the time of the Parisian evenings. The elder one of Philippe having become the friend of Robert Benoist whereas they served both in the Air force at the time of the Great War, it is by this skew that during a time, Philippe took part in Grand Prix cars. Having inherited his father his taste of the cars fast, but eager to preserve anonymity at the time of these competitions, it used the pseudonym of " Georges Philippe".

In 1928, it took part for the first time in the race of Paris in Nice, after which it bought a news Bugatti and took part in the Grand Prix of the Mans. In 1929 it took part in many competitions of which the first Grand Prix of Monaco at the time it was classified fourth behind the winner, William Grover-Williams. Three weeks later, it obtains its first victory at the time of the Grand Prix of Burgundy to Dijon. However, thanks to its successes, the press starts to be interested in this famous " Georges Philippe" , thus by preoccupation with a discretion that Philippe put an end to his career of racing driver, not taking part more that one last time into 1930 in the 24 hours of Mans . In 1935, Rothschild and its friend, Jean Rheims, who sponsorisaient a team of Bobsleigh, refused to take part in the Winter Olympics of 1936 of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany protesting thus against the " persecution of the Jews allemands" by the mode Nazi.

Vine grower

In spite of time that it devoted to the automobile races and with the production in 1932 of the first film speaking about the French cinema having obtained an international recognition, the Lac with the Ladies , (adapted of a news of Vicki Baum and directed by Marc Allégret, script of Colette and whose high-speed motorboats were Jean-Pierre Aumont and Simone Simon), Philippe does not give up its field of the Castle Rothschild Sheep in Pauillac, where it continues with his innovations. During the grape harvest, it noted this year there that the grape did not correspond to the standards of qualities which it had set and decided not to market it under the name of the Castle. In 1932 Philippe de Rothschild thus began the marketing of cheaper Bordeaux named " Cadet" sheep;. The product had such a success that it had to buy grape in all the vineyard of the Bordeaux region in order to satisfy the request.

In addition to his idea of setting out of bottle to the castle, Philippe made draw his labels by the most famous artists. The labels were the work of painters and sculptors become famous like Jean Cocteau, Leonor Fini, Henry Moore, Marie Laurencin, Georges Braque, El Salvador Dalí, Jacques Villon, Pierre Alechinsky, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, César, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Andy Warhol and much of others.

In 1933 Philippe increased the field of Sheep-Rothschild by the acquisition of the field of the Castle of Armailhacq. Towards the end of the Years 1930, the Rothschild Sheep were considered among the best wines of the world. Nevertheless the vineyard of Sheep had been classified always in the " seconds crus" by the official Classification of the wines of Bordeaux of 1855 (undoubtedly because of the américano-Jewish origin of its owner), Philippe de Rothschild was given like mission of making change this prejudice.

In 1935, it married Elisabeth Pelletier of Chambure (1902-1945). They had two children: Filipino Mathilde Camille (born the November 22nd 1935) and Charles Henri (still-born child in 1937).

In its memories ( MILADY Fortifies off the Autobiography Philippe de Rothschild , written in collaboration with his/her friend, the director Joan Littlewood ISBN 0712608052), Rothschild will describe it like a marriage of great passion and storms. The difficulties of the couples increased during the birth of their son who died shortly after. They divorced then and his wife took again her name of young girl.

Second world war

The release of the Second world war had serious consequences on the whole of the Rothschild family, of Jewish origin. Following the occupation of France by the Nazis, the parents of Philippe had to flee with Lausanne in Suisse and their Parisian residence became the general headquarter of the navy of German war.

Although having been called to be useful in the air force, the fast defeat of France resulted in the arrest from Philippe in Algérie by the government from Vichy and seizure of its vineyard. Its French citizenship was revoked the September 6th 1940 because of what the The NewYork Times will describe like " having left France without official permission or reason valable." Slackened the April 20th 1941, Philippe de Rothschild joined the England and engages in the free French Forces of the General de Gaulle, in which it will receive the Military Cross. Lili, the woman of Philippe never had thought but it can-T-being worried, resulting from an old French family. On his return in France after the Release, Philippe de Rothschild learned that if his/her daughter were quite healthy and safe, the Gestapo had off-set his wife in 1941 with Ravensbrück where she had been assassinated the March 23rd, 1945.

After war

Devastated by the news, Rothschild had to also be concerned with its vineyard. The German army in escape had caused serious damage with the Castle Sheep Rothschild and the property needed considerable repairs. Together with devoted employees, it put all its energy to restore the vineyard and at the beginning of the Années 1950, it was again able to produce excellent wines.

At this same time Philippe took again his participation in the entertainment world, with Gaston Bonheur he wrote in French and English the part Lady Chatterley' S Lover . Based on the news of David Herbert Lawrence, their part was then produced with the cinema with in the high-speed motorboat Danielle Darrieux. In 1952 Rothschild and Bonheur wrote to the scenario of the film the Young lady and her ghost . Philippe de Rothschild was an achieved poet, and in 1952 its poem Vendange inspired with Darius Milhaud a ballet in three acts for the Opéra of Paris. It also translated poems and parts of Christopher Fry.

In 1954, Rothschild married its mistress, Pauline Fairfax Potter (1908 - 1976), American, born in Paris which had been dessinatrice of mode at Hattie Carnegie. After their marriage, it made use of its talents of esthète to restore the old warehouse of the property and to make a superb residence of it, which made it famous in the world of the mode and the decoration of interior.

In 1973, Château Rothschild Sheep was the only vineyard to have ever obtained its reclassification in First believed, thanks to the ceaseless work of Philippe. The owner of Château of Yquem made call without success of this reclassification which he considered illegitimate.

In 1976, after its Rothschild Sheep lost against a wine California N, at the time of a tasting called the Jugement of Paris, it " telephoned the one of the judges and asked him rageusement, 'That you made with my wines? That took forty years to me to make them classify in First vintage! '"

Arts

In 1962, in Mouton, Rothschild created a " Museum off Wine in Art" where a collection without price of works of art is exposed covering three millenia of history of the wine, including/understanding works of Pablo Picasso and rare glassmaking. In 1970, Rothschild bought the Castle Clerk Milon, a fifth vintage located beside its property. After having achieved the goal of its existence in 1973 during the classification of the Castle Rothschild Sheep in First Vintage , it started to look out of France for new viticultural opportunities and in 1980 it announced a Joint venture with the American vine grower, Robert Mondavi, to found the " Opus One Winery " with Oakville (California).

In 1997, under the Filipino direction of of Rothschild, Château Sheep-Rothschild joined Concha there Toro Chile in order to produce containing Cabernet-Sauvignon, a red wine of type of Bordeaux in a new cellar built in the Vallée of Maipo in Chile.

Philippe de Rothschild remained active in the market of the wine until his death in 1988 at the 85 years age, the changing is now ensured by his daughter, who is also interested in the theater, as an actress under the Nom of scene of " Filipino Pascal".

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