A New Baron in Bordeaux

Philippe Sereys de Rothschild likes to call himself a financier in a family of artists. In October, after the death of his mother, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, he became chairman of the supervisory board of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA, which oversees first-growth Château Mouton Rothschild and other brands in France (including best-selling Mouton Cadet), Chile (Almaviva), and the U.S. (Opus One). His brother, Julien de Beaumarchais, and sister, Camille Sereys de Rothschild, are co-owners. When I interviewed him, Rothschild, 52, had just returned to Bordeaux from the Cannes Film Festival, where the Mouton Cadet Wine Bar is always a popular hangout and where he hit the red carpet with his frequent companion, actor Carole Bouquet. Rothschild brings more than family connections to his new role: Armed with an MBA from Harvard, he had a career in business and finance, including creating a private-equity technology fund.

Your grandfather got Mouton elevated to first-growth status [in 1973], and your mother was also a powerful personality. How did you work with her? It was a subtle balance when I started on the board in 2006.