In considering the
Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855
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 ...
,
Alexis Lichine
Alexis Lichine (December 3, 1913 – June 1, 1989) was a Russian wine writer and entrepreneur. He played a key role in promoting varietal labelling of wine, was a masterful salesman of wine, and owned Château Prieuré-Lichine and a share of Chât ...
held the opinion that the list, some hundred years after the selection was made, no longer expressed the whole truth concerning the ranking of
Bordeaux wine
Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...
.
Working for a reevaluation and change of structure of the classification of Bordeaux estates, he ended up spending much of his professional life on a campaign that lasted more than thirty years to accomplish a revision.
Having published his ''Classification des Grands Crus Rouges de Bordeaux'' in 1962, with several revisions over the following years, Lichine came to be viewed as "the doyen of unofficial classification compilers".
Reclassification
In 1959, a committee of which Lichine was a member as well as leading Bordeaux growers, shippers and brokers, was formed to decide what was to be done about reclassifying the work of 1855. Investigations revealed to what extent parcels of land had exchanged hands, some were considered insignificant but in other cases important transfers of terrain had taken place.
It is acknowledged that at the time the list was compiled in great haste, primarily on the basis of which estates had consistently commanded the highest prices.
[ While there was widespread agreement the 1855 classification had flaws, a general view remained that it was impossible to improve upon it.
The committee made a formal request to proceed with the revision in 1960. Opting for three categories instead of five, removing 18 chateaux and adding 13 new ones with updates every five years provoked reactions of outrage among those who faced great loss, "Château owners demoted or entirely deleted… condemned the ranking as malicious, incompetent and unjust."] The ''Institut National des Appellations d'Origine
An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body.
In some countries, institutes can ...
'' (INAO) was called to arbitrate, but it became decided that the jurisdiction of INAO was too limited to resolve a matter of this complexity. After two years of efforts, the Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
Chamber of Commerce and ''Académie des Vins de Bordeaux'' also became involved in the debate surrounding the reforms.[ Recognising that the process would take a great deal of time, Lichine decided to publish his own classification.
]
Goals
In agreement with the committee, Lichine believed that, just as the principal philosophy behind the 1855 classification, ''price'' would be the most reliable indicator, but a revision could not let the transfer of first-rate soil go unchallenged.[ It was also important to identify cases where highly classified estates had become surpassed by those rated Fifth Growth or '']Cru Bourgeois
The Cru Bourgeois classification lists some of the châteaux from the Médoc that were not included in the 1855 Classification of ''Crus Classés'', or Classed Growths. Notionally, ''Cru Bourgeois'' is a level below ''Cru Classé'', but still of ...
'', and addressing the 1855 classification's neglect of properties from other areas than Médoc
The Médoc (; oc, label= Gascon, Medòc ) is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the ''département'' of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, north of Bordeaux. Its name comes from ''(Pagus) Medull ...
, namely those of Graves
A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as gravey ...
, Saint-Émilion
Saint-Émilion (; Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. In 2016, it had a population of 1,938.
In the heart of the country of ''Libournais'' (the area around Libourne), in ...
and Pomerol
Pomerol (; oc, Pomairòus) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gironde Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine near Bordeaux in southwestern France.
Wine
With only . Pomerol is the smallest wine producing area in the Bordea ...
.[ Attempting to bring these areas together under one classification was considered unique to the Lichine rating.][
Lichine also believed that no classification could be planned for a shorter span than 25–50 years since frequent changes would create consumer confusion and loss of public confidence, but saw the 1855 classification as evidence that no ruling can remain valid indefinitely.
Lichine was convinced that rankings of "first", "second", etc. were a mistake that should not be repeated, unfairly implying that there was, for instance, something second-rate about a Second Growth.][ Choosing to adapt and expand on the ranks used in the classifications of Graves and ]Saint-Émilion
Saint-Émilion (; Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. In 2016, it had a population of 1,938.
In the heart of the country of ''Libournais'' (the area around Libourne), in ...
, Lichine arrived at the categories: ''Outstanding Growths, Exceptional Growths, Great Growths, Superior Growths'' and ''Good Growths''.
Among the most visible changes was the elevation of Château Mouton Rothschild
Château Mouton Rothschild is a wine estate located in the village of Pauillac in the Médoc region, 50 km (30 mi) north-west of the city of Bordeaux, France. Originally known as ''Château Brane-Mouton'', its red wine was renamed by ...
from its second growth status to ''Cru Hors Classe'', which was the only of his suggestions ever to be realised. Mouton Rothschild was promoted to ''Premier Cru'' status in 1973.
Publications
Lichine's classification was published in 1962 and revised in 1966. Later revisions followed until the last version was published in 1985, though the final classification was dated to 1978.[ Never coming to fruition before Lichine's death, some of the reasons are believed to be the 1855 establishment's political muscle, prosperity and prospects, social status, market clout, professional and personal prestige and conservatism.][
Resigned to the fact that no revision would be made, Lichine wrote in 1986, "when one considers the outcry, disputes and lawsuits brought about by a new classification proposed for St.-Emilion in 1985,] one must reluctantly conclude that no such new classification - however much needed - is likely to win adoption."
Other published classifications that attempt to revise the 1855 ranking include a top 100 ranking by Robert Parker and ''L'histoire de la vigne & du vin'' (English: ''The History of Wine and the Vine'') by Bernard and Henri Enjalbert Henri Enjalbert (1910 – June 19, 1983) was a French professor of geography at the University of Bordeaux. He was considered an eminent specialist in wine geology, whose expert opinion frequently overlapped into the fields of oenology, and win ...
, efforts by Clive Coates
Clive Coates (21 October 1941 – 26 July 2022) was a British wine writer and Master of Wine, best known for his books about the wines of Burgundy.winepros.com.au.
Biography
Born in Wimbledon, London on 21 October 1941, Coates worked for T ...
( MW) and David Peppercorn
David Peppercorn (born 1931) is a British Master of Wine, French wine importer and author, known for his books about the wines of Bordeaux and long experience in his field, having collected tasting notes since the late 1950s. He is married to fel ...
(MW),[ as well as a 2009 re-calculation by the British wine exchange Liv-ex.][Liv-ex Fine Wine Market blog (March 10, 2009)]
The Liv-ex Bordeaux Classification
/ref>
''Classification des Grands Crus Rouges de Bordeaux''
The final 1978 revision with comparison notes to the 1966 revision.
﹡ Lichine notes, "These wines are considered better than their peers in this classification".
a Promoted a tier placement from 1966 to 1978.
b Relegated a tier placement from 1966 to 1978.
1978 demotions
References
*
*
;Footnotes
{{reflist, 2
Bordeaux wine
Wine classification