Provocative Wine Label Is Denuded

American wine drinkers may think they have sophisticated tastes, but some couldn’t stomach even looking at the 1993 bottles from France’s most famous vintner.

The label was a tad too provocative: It featured a drawing of a reclining, nude girl by the world-renowned artist Balthus.

So after hearing complaints from some Californians, Chateau Mouton Rothschild quickly slapped new, sanitized labels on its bottles - at least, on the ones bound for the United States.

“While I believe there is absolutely nothing erotic or pornographic about the sketch of a nude 10-year-old girl - the nude has inspired artists for centuries - I respect the feelings and beliefs of our customers,” Baroness Philippine de Rothschild said Thursday.

Mrs. de Rothschild, who heads the Mouton Rothschild vineyards near Bordeaux, said that 30,000 bottles were relabeled earlier this year for the American market “out of respect.” The new labels still carry the Chateau Mouton name and the wine’s vintage. But where the 2-by-4-inch nude drawing was, there is a blank space.