Langton's Classification of Australian Wine is a grouping of high-end Australian wines compiled by the Melbourne- and Sydney-based auction house Langton's, first released in 1991. The Classification is a ranking of the best performing wines based on market demand and vintages made.[1][2][3][4][5] The Langton's Classification is split into four categories; Exceptional, Outstanding, Excellent and Distinguished. The classification is renewed at intervals of approximately five years, with different versions of the classification referred to by Roman numerals. The current classification is number V, published in 2010, and is made up of 123 of Australia's finest wines. To be listed in the Classification a wine must have a minimum of ten vintage years and also achieve high secondary market values.[2][3][4][5][6]
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The first classification published in 1991, Langton's Classification of Distinguished Australian Wine I, had its background in a publication from 1990, the Langton's Vintage Wine Price Guide. In the 1991 classification, 34 wines were classified using three categories: Outstanding (A), Outstanding (B), and Excellent. Only one wine was classified as Outstanding (A): Penfolds Grange Shiraz.[7]
Langton's sees its classification as "loosely modelled on the Bordeaux Classification of 1855"[7], but with its regular reclassifications it is more similar to the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine, although with several differences: no official governmental recognition, a much wider geographic scope, and with several different wine styles classified using the same categories.
Langton's Classification of Distinguished Australian Wine II was published in 1996, and included 64 wines in four categories: Outstanding A (three wines), Outstanding, Excellent A, and Excellent.
Langton's Classification of Australian Wine III was published in 2000, and included 89 wines in the four categories also used for classifications IV and V; Exceptional (seven wines), Outstanding, Excellent, and Distinguished. From classification III, fortified wines ("Port") were no longer included.[7]
Langton's Classification of Australian Wine IV of 2005 included 101 wines, of which 11 at the Exceptional level.[7]
As of 2010, no wine that had been included in the top category ("Exceptional") had ever been demoted; this category had progressively expanded to include additional wines with each edition of the classification.[7]
In the 2010 classification, the following 17 wines are included in the "Exceptional" category.[8] For historical reasons, Penfolds Grange is listed first by Langton's, with the other wines following in alphabetical order. The year when the wines were included in the "Exceptional" category (or its predecessor "Outstanding A") is indicated.[7]