{"id":7368,"date":"2021-08-12T12:42:29","date_gmt":"2021-08-12T04:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.ift.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/?p=7368"},"modified":"2021-08-12T12:58:39","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T04:58:39","slug":"a-guide-to-bordeaux-wines-part-2-of-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/a-guide-to-bordeaux-wines-part-2-of-2\/","title":{"rendered":"A guide to Bordeaux wines \u2013 Part 2 of 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\u4e2d\u6587\u6458\u8981 \/ Summary in Chinese<\/span>\n

There are many great wine regions around the world, but none comes close to the formidable fame of Bordeaux, thanks to the wines featured in its Grands Crus Class\u00e9s du M\u00e9doc en 1855\u00a0<\/em>classification (Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855), which set it apart.<\/p>\n

Among all Grands Crus Class\u00e9s<\/em> wines, the 5 ranked as Premiers Crus<\/em> (or \u2018First Growths\u2019, the top classification) have become iconic labels for wine consumers. The list includes Ch\u00e2teau Lafite Rothschild<\/em>, Ch\u00e2teau Latour<\/em>, Ch\u00e2teau Margaux<\/em>, Ch\u00e2teau Haut-Brion <\/em>and Ch\u00e2teau Mouton Rothschild<\/em>. In almost every major city around the world, you will find Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurants and specialist wine merchants carrying some if not all of these wines, as they are synonyms of luxury and prestige.<\/p>\n

As its name suggests, the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 originated in 1855 for the purpose of showcasing the best French wines during that year\u2019s Exposition Universelle (an international event now known as the World Expo), which was to be held in Paris. At the order of the Emperor Napoleon III, the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce invited a group of top n\u00e9gociants<\/em> (a French term for wine merchants) and wine brokers, to draft a list of top wines based on their selling price and reputation.<\/p>\n

The list was divided into 5 groups of Grands Crus Class\u00e9s<\/em>, descending in order from First Growths to Fifth Growths (or Cinqui\u00e8mes Crus<\/em>). In essence, the higher the price of the wines, the higher the grouping granted, as price was regarded at the time as an accurate proxy for quality. (It is an interesting fact that this list took just two weeks to put together, but still has a profound impact on the wine world today.)<\/p>\n

With the sole exception of the upgrade of Ch\u00e2teau Mouton Rothschild<\/em> to First Growth from Second in 1973, the list basically remains unchanged since 1855. Not surprisingly, there are critics debating if this ranking is still relevant today, pointing to some apparent faults.<\/p>\n

First of all, this classification is only a snapshot of the wine market in 1855. Many producers of Grands Crus Class\u00e9s <\/em>have since either changed ownership, sold their original vineyards or bought new pieces of land, planted new grape varieties on their properties, modified their winemaking methods, or adopted new production technologies both in the vineyards and wineries.<\/p>\n

Secondly, the list only includes winemakers located on the Left Bank of the Bordeaux wine region, excluding those on the Right Bank, which is home to some of the most celebrated Bordeaux wines today, such as Le Pin, P\u00e9trus, Ch\u00e2teau Lafleur <\/em>and Ch\u00e2teau Cheval Blanc<\/em>. Nonetheless there is no sign of any update to the list or change of the system in the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that the Grands Crus Class\u00e9s <\/em>system is a powerful marketing tool, as consumers are always looking for a guideline or benchmark that they can refer to while making a wine-buying decision. The classification allows the ranked producers to charge a significant premium on their products, regardless of the actual quality of the wines.<\/p>\n

This is not to say that the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification has no value whatsoever: there are many producers of Grands Crus Class\u00e9s <\/em>who are able to deliver quality wines consistently vintage after vintage and thus justify the fame of their products. But, at the same time, there are wines featured on the list that deserve to be demoted or even removed due to underwhelming quality.<\/p>\n

The system simply does not reward those existing Grands Crus Class\u00e9s <\/em>producers that have made remarkable improvements and thus warrant promotions, nor does it allow for non-ranked producers that are making great wines today to have their products added to the list. Therefore, for consumers, it is advisable to proceed with caution when referring to the Grands Crus Class\u00e9s <\/em>system for a purchase decision, as a higher ranking may or may not reflect the actual quality of a particular wine.<\/p>\n

Other rankings<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the Left Bank, there is another, more modern classification system in use: it is called Crus Bourgeois du M\u00e9doc<\/em>. This system, first adopted in 1932, has evolved over time and is open to all wine producers in any of the following appellations d\u2019origine controlee (AOC) in Bordeaux: M\u00e9doc, Haut-M\u00e9doc, Listrac-M\u00e9doc, Moulis-en-M\u00e9doc, Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac and Saint-Est\u00e8phe.<\/p>\n

It is noteworthy that this is the only classification based solely on the results of blind tastings by a panel of judges, with the ranking updated every 5 years. The latest classification results were published in 2020. It featured a total of 249 wine producers ranked according to 3 tiers of quality. In descending order, there were: 14 ch\u00e2teaux in the Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel\u00a0<\/em>category; 56 ch\u00e2teaux classified as Cru Bourgeois Sup\u00e9rieur<\/em>; and 179 ch\u00e2teaux labelled Cru Bourgeois<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This classification, although less well-known among consumers, is often a helpful reference when searching for affordable quality alternatives to the more expensive Grands Crus Class\u00e9s<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For wines produced on the Right Bank, there is the Saint-\u00c9milion wine classification system. Ch\u00e2teaux have to apply for inclusion, and their wines from the previous 10 vintages are tasted by a jury of experts. There are 3 tiers of classification (in ascending order in terms of quality): Saint-\u00c9milion Grand Cru Class\u00e9<\/em>, Saint-\u00c9milion Premier Grand Cru Class\u00e9<\/em>, and Saint-\u00c9milion Premier Grand Cru Class\u00e9 A<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Saint-\u00c9milion wine classification list is announced once every 10 years. The most recent classification, from 2012, listed 82 producers, with 64 Grands Crus Class\u00e9s<\/em> and 18 Premiers Grands Crus Class\u00e9s<\/em>, 4 of which obtained the top Saint-\u00c9milion Premier Grand Cru Class\u00e9 A <\/em>status.<\/p>\n

It is important to note that many wine consumers often confuse the Saint-\u00c9milion Grand Cru Class\u00e9 <\/em>ranking with the similarly-named appellation Saint-\u00c9milion Grand Cru AOC. The Saint-\u00c9milion Grand Cru AOC (note that the keyword \u2018Class\u00e9\u2019<\/em> is missing)<\/em> is merely the name of an appellation in the Saint-\u00c9milion region, having no relationship whatsoever to the Saint-\u00c9milion wine classification system \u2013 thus the Saint-\u00c9milion Grand Cru AOC denomination is not in itself a quality indication.<\/p>\n

On a final note, keep in mind that Bordeaux is a wine region that is constantly battling with year-to-year variations in weather patterns. It is very useful to refer to vintage charts made available by renowned wine publications in order to differentiate the good years from the mediocre ones, as the quality of the wines can be significantly impacted by poor weather events such as frost and heavy rainfall.<\/p>\n

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Useful references:<\/strong><\/p>\n

– Full list of the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855:
\nhttps:\/\/gcc-1855.fr\/ListingGCC1855-en.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

– Full list of the Classement 2020 Crus Bourgeois du M\u00e9doc:
\nhttps:\/\/www.crus-bourgeois.com\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Classement-2020-des-Crus-Bourgeois-du-Me%CC%81doc-1.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

– Full list of the 2012 Saint-\u00c9milion wine classification:
\nhttps:\/\/vins-saint-emilion.com\/en\/our-wines-2\/the-2012-classification\/<\/a><\/p>\n

– Bordeaux vintage charts:
\n1) By Wine Spectator: https:\/\/www.winespectator.com\/vintage-charts\/region\/france<\/a><\/em>
\n 2) By The Wine Advocate: https:\/\/www.robertparker.com\/resources\/vintage-chart<\/a><\/em>
\n 3) By Decanter: https:\/\/www.decanter.com\/learn\/vintage-guides\/bordeaux-vintage-guide<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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This month\u2019s recommendation:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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