First Growth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
First Growth (French Premier Cru) status refers to a classification of wines primarily from the Bordeaux region of France.
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[edit] History
[edit] Bordeaux Reds
The need for a classification of the best Bordeaux wines arose for the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris. The result was the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 a list of the top ranked wines, named the Grand Crus Classés (Great Classified Growths). With several thousand different Chateaux producing their own wines in Bordeaux, to be classified was to carry a mark of high prestige.
Within the Grand Cru Classé list wines were further ranked and placed in one of five divisions. The best of the best wines were assigned the highest rank of Premier Cru; only four wines, Château Latour, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Margaux and Château Haut-Brion were deemed worthy. Of all the 61 great classified wines, all but one came from the Médoc region. The exception was the premier cru Château Haut-Brion, produced in Graves.
The 1855 list remained unchanged for over a hundred years until finally Mouton Rothschild was promoted to Premier Cru status in 1973, after decades of relentless lobbying by its powerful owner. Of lesser importance, in 1988 the premier cru Château Haut-Brion was changed in appelation from Graves to Pessac-Leognan to represent apparent changes in soil structure caused by the urbanisation of areas surrounding Bordeaux.
[edit] Bordeaux Sweet Wines
Also in 1855, 21 of the best sweet wines from Bordeaux were classified as Grand Crus Classés in a separate list. In the original classification, 9 wines primarily from the Sauternes and Barsac regions were classed as Premier Cru, while 11 were assigned the lower (though still prestigious) rank of Deuxième Cru (Second Growth). One wine (Château d'Yquem) was considered so great it was granted a special Premier Cru Supérieur classification.
[edit] Other Classification Schemes in Bordeaux
With the exception of Château Haut-Brion from Graves, the 1855 Classification did not include producers in the regions of Graves, Saint-Emilion and Pomerol. For details on their own classification schemes, see their sections below.
[edit] Other Classification Schemes in France
In addition, Burgundy maintains its own classification scheme based on specific appellations.
[edit] First Growth Wines Today
[edit] Bordeaux Reds
- Château Lafite Rothschild Médoc (Pauillac)
- Château Margaux Médoc (Margaux)
- Château Latour Médoc (Pauillac)
- Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan
- Château Mouton-Rothschild Médoc (Pauillac)
[edit] Bordeaux Sweet Wines
[edit] Premier Cru Supérieur
- Château d'Yquem (Sauternes)
[edit] Premier Cru
- Château Coutet Barsac
- Château Climens Barsac
- Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey Sauternes (Bommes)
- Château Guiraud Sauternes
- Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey Sauternes(Bommes)
- Château Rabaud-Promis Sauternes(Bommes)
- Château Rabaud-Sigalas Sauternes(Bommes)
- Château Rayne-Vigneau Sauternes(Bommes)
- Château Rieussec Sauternes(Fargues)
- Château de Suduiraut Sauternes(Preignac)
- Château La Tour-Blanche Sauternes(Bommes)
The communes of Bommes, Fargues and Preignac were once separate communes but now fall into the single commune of Sauternes.
[edit] The Graves Classification
After the Second World War the omission of wines of Graves from the official classification was having a negative effect on the price and desirability of wines from the region. To improve marketing the region announced in 1953 its own classification of red wines, with white wines being added in 1959. Sixteen wines were given special classification.
- Château Bouscaut (red & white)
- Château Carbonnieux (red & white)
- Château Couhins (white)
- Château Couhins Lurton (white)
- Château Domaine de Chevalier (red & white)
- Château Fieuzal (red)
- Château Haut-Bailly (red)
- Château Haut-Brion (red)
- Château La Mission Haut-Brion (red)
- Château La Tour Haut-Brion (red)
- Château La Tour Martillac (red & white)
- Château Laville Haut-Brion (white)
- Château Malartic-Lagravière (red & white)
- Château Olivier (red & white)
- Château Pape Clément (red)
- Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte (red)
[edit] The Saint-Émilion Classification
Missing from the 1855 list, the Bordeaux region of Saint-Emilion offered its own classification in 1955 to improve market demand and prices. The Classification of Saint-Emilion wine differs from the 1855 list in that it is updated approximately every ten years based on new assessments of quality. For each new release of the classification, wines may be promoted or demoted within the list. A wine may even removed entirely, while other unclassified wines may be added. In 2006, for example, 11 wines were removed from the list, 6 new wines added, and 2 existing wines promoted to a higher division.
The Saint-Émilion Classification currently labels 15 wines as First Growths. These Premiers Grands Crus Classés, subdivided into two further classes : A (2 wines) and B (13 wines). A further 46 wines are currently classified as Grands Crus Classés.
[edit] Premiers Grands Crus Classés A
- Château Ausone
- Château Cheval Blanc
[edit] Premiers Grands Crus Classés B
- Château Angélus
- Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse)
- Château Beau-Séjour-Bécot
- Château Belair
- Château Canon
- Château Figeac
- Château La Gaffelière
- Château Magdelaine
- Château Pavie
- Château Pavie-Macquin
- Château Troplong-Mondot
- Château Trottevieille
- Clos Fourtet
[edit] Pomerol
Pomerol has refused to create any sort of classification scheme but it has produced red wines that are among the most expensive in the world, such as Château Pétrus.
[edit] Burgundy
The region of Burgundy also maintains its own classification of Grands Crus and Premiers Crus generally controlled by the geographical specificity of the appellations used on the bottle. For example, only a Grand Cru wine is permitted to use Appellation Chambertin Contrôlée on its label, whereas wines bearing Appellation Clos Saint-Jacques Contrôlée are implicitly of Premier Cru status, despite both being from the village of Gevrey-Chambertin.
