Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855

Châteaux of Bordeaux

The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines that were to be on display for visitors from around the world. Brokers from the wine industry ranked the wines according to a château's reputation and trading price, which at that time was directly related to quality.

The wines were ranked in importance from first to fifth growths (crus). All of the red wines that made it on the list came from the Médoc region except for one: Château Haut-Brion from Graves. The white wines, then of much less importance than red wine, were limited to the sweet varieties of Sauternes and Barsac and were ranked only from superior first growth to second growth.

Changes to the classification

Within each category, the various châteaux are ranked in order of quality and only twice since the 1855 classification has there been a change, first when in 1856 Cantemerle was added as a fifth growth (having either been originally omitted by oversight or added as an afterthought, depending on which of the conflicting accounts is correct) and, more significantly, in 1973, when Château Mouton Rothschild was elevated from a second growth to a first growth vineyard after decades of intense lobbying by the powerful Philippe de Rothschild. A third, but less known "change", is the removal of Château Dubignon, a third growth from Margaux that was absorbed into the estate Château Malescot St. Exupéry.[1]

A superficial change is that since 1855, when only five of the estates were styled with the word "château" in their name, most Bordeaux wine estates now use this nomenclature.[2]

Critique

As a classification of châteaux, the actual vineyards owned by some wineries have expanded, shrunk and been divided without any reclassification, and considerable plots of valued terroir have changed ownership.[3] Indeed, it is a peculiarity of Bordeaux that as long as a vineyard parcel lies within the boundaries of the wine commune, it is eligible to be used by any chateau, independent of the quality of the parcel itself.[4]

Many wine critics have argued that the 1855 Classification became outdated and does not provide an accurate guide to the quality of the wines being made on each estate. Several proposals have been made for changes to the classification, and a bid for a revision was unsuccessfully attempted in 1960.[5] Alexis Lichine, a member of the 1960 revision panel, launched a campaign to implement changes that lasted over thirty years, in the process publishing several editions of his own unofficial classification and his Alexis Lichine's Guide to the Wines and Vineyards of France, in which he devoted a chapter to the subject. In support of his argument, Lichine cited the case of Chateau Lynch-Bages, the Pauillac Fifth Growth that, through good management and by patiently collecting the best parcels as they come on the market, makes wine that in his view are worthy of a much higher classification.[4] Conversely, poor management can result in a significant decline in quality, as the example of Chateau Margaux shows—the wines it made in the 1960s and 1970s are widely regarded as far below what's expected of a First Growth.[6][7] Other critics have followed a similar suit, including Robert Parker who published a top 100 Bordeaux estates in 1985 and L'histoire de la vigne & du vin (English: The History of Wine and the Vine) by Bernard and Henri Enjalbert in 1989, as well as efforts made by Clive Coates (MW) and David Peppercorn (MW).[1][8][9] Ultimately nothing has come of them; the likely negative impact on prices for any downgraded châteaux and the 1855 establishment's political muscle are considered among the reasons.[10]

In March 2009, the British wine exchange Liv-ex released a modern re-calculation of the 1855 classification, with an aim to apply the original method to the contemporary economical context.[11][12]

Many of the leading estates from the Médoc appellation that were not included in the 1855 classification are classified as Cru Bourgeois, a classification system that has been updated on a regular basis since 1932, banned in 2007,[13] but reinstated in 2010.[14][15]

The Médoc Classification of 1855

Château Lafite-Rothschild
Château Léoville-Las Cases
Château Léoville-Barton
Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse
Château Cantemerle
Château d’Yquem
Château Guiraud
Château Doisy Daëne

In French Les Grands Crus classés en 1855. The estates are listed with their commune (village), and their AOC in parenthesis, if different from the commune. The 19th-century names appear as listed by the brokers on April 18, 1855, followed by the modern names, as the use of "second cru" for red wines and "deuxième cru" for white wines.[2]

The Red Wines of the Gironde

First Growths (Premiers Crus)

Second Growths (Deuxièmes Crus)

Third Growths (Troisièmes Crus)

Fourth Growths (Quatrièmes Crus)

Fifth Growths (Cinquièmes Crus)

The White Wines of the Gironde

[Barsac estates may be labelled with the appellation Barsac or Sauternes.]

Superior First Growth (Premier Cru Supérieur)

First Growths (Premier Crus)

Second Growths (Deuxième Crus)

See also

Notes and references

a.  ^ The only classified estate situated in Graves rather than Médoc.
b.  ^ Listed as Second Growth in 1855, elevated to First Growth in 1973.
c.  ^ Dissolved in 1960.
d.  ^ Added in 1856.

General
  • Stevenson, Tom (2005). The Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia (4th ed.). London: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 64–65. ISBN 0-7566-1324-8. 
  • Echikson, Tom (2004). Noble rot. NY: Norton. ISBN 0-8168-6825-5
  • Taber, George M. (2005). Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the historic 1976 Tasting that Revolutionized Wine. NY: Scribner. ISBN 0-7432-9732-6
Footnotes
  1. 1 2 Peppercorn, David (2003). Bordeaux. London: Mitchell Beazley. p. 83. ISBN 1-84000-927-6.
  2. 1 2 Stevenson, Tom (2005). The Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia (4th ed.). London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 64. ISBN 0-7566-1324-8.
  3. ↑ Lichine, Alexis (1967). Alexis Lichine's Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits. London: Cassell & Company Ltd. pp. 144–148.
  4. 1 2 Lichine, Alexis (May 1989). Alexis Lichine's Guide to the Wines and Vineyards of France. Alfred A Knopf.
  5. ↑ Prial, Frank J. The New York Times (1989-08-20). "The Battle of 1855".
  6. ↑ Parker, Robert (2013). Bordeaux: A Consumer's Guide to the World's Finest Wines (Fourth revised ed.). Simon and Schuster. Prior to that [1978] is a succession of failures ... they are washed out, mediocre shells of what they could have been
  7. ↑ Jenster, Per V. (2008). The Business of Wine: A Global Perspective. Copenhagen Business School Press. p. 163.
  8. ↑ Prial, Frank J. The New York Times (1988-02-17). "Wine Talk".
  9. ↑ Prial, Frank J. The New York Times (1991-09-25). "Wine Talk".
  10. ↑ Goldberg, Howard G., Wine News. "Dusting off the 1855 debate". Archived from the original on 2008-01-23.
  11. ↑ Liv-ex Fine Wine Market blog (March 10, 2009). The Liv-ex Bordeaux Classification
  12. ↑ Lechmere, Adam, Decanter.com (March 6, 2009). "Liv-ex creates new 1855 Classification".
  13. ↑ Anson, Jane, Decanter.com (2007-07-10). "Cru Bourgeois classification officially over". Archived from the original on December 27, 2007.
  14. ↑ Anson, Jane, Decanter.com (2008-02-26). "Cru Bourgeois revived". Archived from the original on March 2, 2008.
  15. ↑ Lechmere, Adam, Decanter.com (September 23, 2010). "Cru Bourgeois: new listing launched".
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