In the heart of the Gironde, the Bordeaux vineyard has been an ambassador of French wines throughout the world for several decades. This reputation is not new, since the Romans and until the 18th century, the people of Bordeaux have continued to develop their vineyards and build the famous “Châteaux” some of which date back to the end of the 16th century.
Photograph of Château D'Yquem (Sauternes) built in 1593
The reputation of this vineyard is obviously based on its very ancient history which has allowed it to become known throughout the world but also by the quality of its terroir and its wines. There is not one great wine in Bordeaux, but a multitude of great wines which present a very wide diversity.
The great Médoc reds for laying down, mainly made from Cabernet Sauvignon, the dry white wines with the unique charm of Pessac-Léognan, the velvety-textured reds of Pomerol and Saint-Emilion, not forgetting the Sauternes wines, which are among the greatest sweet wines in the world.
Despite the reputation today of the entire Bordeaux vineyard, one sub-region has been particularly highlighted since the 19th century: the left bank of Bordeaux (the entire vineyard located to the west of the Gironde and Garonne estuaries) and more precisely the Médoc and Sauternes. This development was achieved in 1855 with the creation of two classifications aimed at presenting the most prestigious red wines of the Médoc, as well as the most prestigious sweet wines of Sauternes.
History and Origin of the 1855 Classification
On the occasion of the 1855 Universal Exhibition in Paris, Napoleon III, already a fan of the great Bordeaux wines, asked the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce to establish a classification of the best wines of the region, in order to show them in all their splendor. It was then the Bordeaux brokers, considered at the time to be the greatest connoisseurs of these great wines, who were responsible for classifying the châteaux on the basis of quality and reputation criteria, but above all according to the sale price of each wine.
This is how 57 Châteaux du Médoc are classified from the rank of premiers crus to that of cinque crus, and 21 from Sauternes and Barsac which are classified on 3 levels (1er Cru Supérieur, Premiers Crus and Seconds Crus). You will have noticed, no reference here to the wines of the Right Bank (Saint-Emilion, Pomerol) which were at the time marketed by the brokers of Libourne and not by those of Bordeaux, who preferred not to ask them to participate in their classification.
Exception and Modifications
This classification, exclusively reserved for the Médoc for reds, however includes one exception, Château Haut-Brion. This property located in the Graves, was directly classified as a Premier Cru Classé, already benefiting at the time from an international reputation, similar to its famous neighbors in Pauillac or Margaux.
Although “set in stone”, the classification has undergone some changes between 1855 and today.
The first concerns the number of Crus Classés, which increased in particular due to the separation of certain properties, increasing the number of Crus in the Médoc from 57 to 61, and that of Sauternes from 21 to 27. We could mention, for example, the division of Château Léoville which was transformed into 3 separate properties in 1880: Château Léoville Las Cases, Château Léoville Poyferré and Château Léoville Barton.
Apart from these separations, the 1855 Classification only saw two real modifications:
- The first took place during the end of the Universal Exhibition, in September 1855: Château Cantemerle, which did not appear in the classification, was included among the fifth classified growths, following the request of the owner at the time who justified sales prices similar to those of the other châteaux, but did not go through the trade to sell her wine.
- The second, which is surely the most important, came in 1973: Château Mouton Rothschild, classified second growth, was then promoted to premier grand cru, after repeated requests from the owners, which were finally accepted and signed by Jacques Chirac, Minister of Agriculture at the time.
The Classification of the Grands Crus Classés of the Médoc
With the exception of Château Haut-Brion, the other Châteaux are all located within the most prestigious appellations of the Médoc: 21 of them are in Margaux, which is the most represented appellation, 18 in Pauillac (which includes 3 of the 5 Premiers Crus), 11 in Saint-Julien, 5 in Saint-Estèphe, and finally 5 others in Haut-Médoc.
|
Premier Crus |
Second Growths |
Third Growths |
|
MAGAUX (Margaux) LAFITE ROTHSCHILD (Pauillac) LATOUR (Pauillac) ROTHSCHILD SHEEP (Pauillac) HAUT-BRION (Pessac-Léognan) |
RAUZAN-SEGLA (Margaux) COS d'ESTOURNEL (St Estèphe) |
KIRWAN (Margaux) CALON-SEGUR (St Estèphe) THE LAGOON (Haut-Médoc) |
|
Fourth Growths |
Fifth Growths |
|
SAINT-PIERRE (St Julien) DUHART-MILON (Pauillac) POUGET (Margaux) LAFON-ROCHET (St Estèphe) |
PONTET-CANET (Pauillac) BELGRAVE (Haut-Médoc) COS LABORY (St Estèphe) |
The Classification of the Grands Crus Classés of Sauternes and Barsac
As for the classification of sweet whites, there are 18 châteaux from Sauternes and 9 from the neighboring appellation, Barsac. However, we should note one originality for this classification, which only includes one wine at the rank of Premier Cru Supérieur. This is the prestigious Château d'Yquem, which wine lovers and critics around the world do not hesitate to call the “greatest sweet wine in the world”.
|
Premier Cru Superior |
Premier Crus |
Second Growths |
|
YQUEM (Sauternes) |
THE WHITE TOWER (Sauternes) |
ARK (Sauternes) |
For any wine lover, reading this ranking and the names of these prestigious châteaux is a dream come true. Finally, 170 years later, despite certain developments within each of the estates, it continues to influence the purchases of Bordeaux wines around the world. Even if it is constantly questioned by many specialist critics, this ranking has managed to keep a part of the truth about the decisions taken at the time.
This 1855 classification, which appears to be “set in stone”, still arouses a lot of emotion. It is often compared with other classifications established during the 20th century in the rest of the Bordeaux vineyards. We could mention here in particular the classification of Saint-Émilion wines, which is revised every 10 years, the only classification to be in perpetual evolution. The debate does not seem to have started, but to give more recent estates a chance, the 1855 Classification could perhaps one day be more up to date and begin a revision... to be continued!
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