First Growth (french: Premier Cru) status is a classification of wines primarily from the Bordeaux region of France.
The best of the best wines were assigned the highest rank of Premier Cru; only five wines, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Latour,
Château Margaux
Château Margaux (), archaically La Mothe de Margaux, is a wine estate of Bordeaux wine, and was one of four wines to achieve ''Premier cru'' (first growth) status in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855. The estate's best wines are very expens ...
The need for a classification of the best Bordeaux wines arose from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris. The result was the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, a list of the top ranked wines, named the Grand Crus Classés (Great Classified Growths). With several thousand Chateaux producing their wines in Bordeaux, to be classified was to carry a mark of high prestige.
Within the Grand Cru Classé list, wines were further ranked and placed in one of five divisions. The best of the best wines were assigned the highest rank of Premier Cru; only four wines, Château Latour, Château Lafite Rothschild,
Château Margaux
Château Margaux (), archaically La Mothe de Margaux, is a wine estate of Bordeaux wine, and was one of four wines to achieve ''Premier cru'' (first growth) status in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855. The estate's best wines are very expens ...
and Château Haut-Brion were deemed worthy. Of all the 61 great classified wines, all but one came from the Médoc region. The exception was the premier cru Château Haut-Brion, produced in Graves.
The 1855 list remained unchanged for over a hundred years until finally
Mouton Rothschild
Mouton may refer to:
*Mouton, Charente, a commune in France
* Mouton, Louisiana, an unincorporated community in the United States
*Mouton fur, a sheepskin that has been made to resemble beaver or seal
*Mouton de Gruyter, a scholarly publishing hou ...
was promoted to Premier Cru status in 1973, after decades of relentless lobbying by its powerful owner,
Baron Philippe de Rothschild
Philippe, Baron de Rothschild (13 April 1902 – 20 January 1988) was a member of the Rothschild banking dynasty who became a Grand Prix motor racing driver, a screenwriter and playwright, a theatrical producer, a film producer, a poet, and one ...
. Of lesser importance, in 1988 the premier cru Château Haut-Brion was changed in appellation from Graves to Pessac-Leognan to represent apparent changes in soil structure caused by the urbanisation of areas surrounding Bordeaux.
Bordeaux sweet wines
Also in 1855, 21 of the best sweet wines from Bordeaux were classified as Grand Crus Classés in a separate list. In the original classification, nine wines (primarily from the Sauternes and Barsac regions) were classed as ''Premier Cru'', while 11 were assigned the lower (though still prestigious) rank of ''Deuxième Cru'' (Second Growth). One wine ( Château d'Yquem) was considered so great it was granted a special ''Premier Cru Supérieur'' classification.
Other classification schemes in Bordeaux
With the exception of Château Haut-Brion from Graves, the 1855 Classification did not include producers in the regions of Graves, Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. For details on their own classification schemes, see their sections below.
Other classification schemes in France
Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
maintains its own classification scheme based on specific appellations. Although the terminology used is similar, the classification hierarchy is different and also attaches to the vineyards themselves. The most-highly rated vineyards are graded as Grand Cru, while those at the next level are classified as Premier Cru.
Château Margaux
Château Margaux (), archaically La Mothe de Margaux, is a wine estate of Bordeaux wine, and was one of four wines to achieve ''Premier cru'' (first growth) status in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855. The estate's best wines are very expens ...
Médoc (
Margaux
Margaux (; oc-gsc, Margaus) is a former commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Margaux-Cantenac.Château Latour Médoc (Pauillac)
* Château Haut-Brion Graves (Pessac-Leognan)
* Château Mouton-Rothschild Médoc (Pauillac)
Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey
Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey is a sweet white wine ranked as Premier Cru Classé (French, “First Growth”) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Belonging to the Sauternes appellation in Gironde, in the region of Grave ...
, Bommes (Sauternes)
*
Château de Rayne-Vigneau
Château de Rayne-Vigneau is a sweet white wine ranked as Premier Cru Classé (French, “First Growth”) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Belonging to the Sauternes appellation in Gironde, in the region of Graves, ...
, Bommes (Sauternes)
*
Château Suduiraut
Château Suduiraut, formerly Cru du Roy and Château de Suduiraut, is a sweet white wine ranked as Premier Cru Classé (French, “First Growth”) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Belonging to the Sauternes appella ...
, Preignac (Sauternes)
*
Château Coutet
Château Coutet is a ''Premier Cru Classé'' (French: First Growth) sweet wine from the Sauternes-Barsac appellation located in Barsac, in the southern part of France's Bordeaux vineyards. Château Coutet is one of the oldest Sauternes produci ...
, Barsac
*
Château Climens
Château Climens is a Premier Cru Classé (French, "First Growth") Sauternes wine producer from the Barsac appellation. The estate is located in the southern part of France's Bordeaux wine region in the district of :Graves, an eighth of a mil ...
, Barsac
*
Château Guiraud
Château Guiraud is a sweet white wine ranked as Premier Cru Classé (French, “First Growth”) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Belonging to the Sauternes appellation in Gironde, in the region of Graves
A ...
Château Rabaud-Promis
Château Rabaud-Promis is a Bordeaux wine producer in the Sauternes appellation. Its sweet white wine ranked as Premier Cru Classé (French, “First Growth”) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. It is located in the ...
, Bommes (Sauternes)
*
Château Sigalas-Rabaud
Château Sigalas-Rabaud, previously also named Château Rabaud-Sigalas, is a Bordeaux wine producer in the Sauternes appellation. Its sweet white wine ranked as Premier Cru Classé (French, “First Growth”) in the original Bordeaux Wine O ...
, Bommes (Sauternes)
The communes of Bommes, Fargues and Preignac were once separate communes but now fall into the single commune of Sauternes.
The Graves classification
After the Second World War the omission of wines of Graves from the official classification was having a negative effect on the price and desirability of wines from the region. To improve marketing the region announced in 1953 its own classification of red wines and one white wine, with more white wines added in 1959. Sixteen wines were given special classification.
* Château Bouscaut (red & white)
*
Château Carbonnieux
Château Carbonnieux is a Bordeaux wine estate located in the Pessac-Léognan region of the Graves. The estate was one of the first estates included in the Graves wine classification and is known for its red and white wine production.
Chateau ...
(red & white)
*
Château Couhins
Château Couhins is a Bordeaux wine estate from the Pessac-Léognan appellation, ranked among the ''Grands'' ''Crus Classés'' for dry white wine in the Classification of Graves wine of 1959. The winery is located in close Southern vicinity of the ...
(white)
*
Château Couhins-Lurton
Château Couhins-Lurton is a Bordeaux wine from the Pessac-Léognan appellation, ranked among the ''Crus Classés'' for dry white wine in the Classification of Graves wine of 1959. The winery is located in close vicinity of the city of Bordeaux, in ...
Château de Fieuzal
Château de Fieuzal is a Bordeaux wine from the Pessac-Léognan appellation, ranked among the ''Crus Classés'' for red wine in the Classification of Graves wine of 1953 and 1959, though the estate also produces a dry white wine which was not class ...
Château Smith Haut Lafitte
Château Smith Haut Lafitte is a Bordeaux wine from the Pessac-Léognan appellation, ranked among the ''Crus Classés'' for red wine in the Classification of Graves wine of 1953 and 1959. The winery and vineyards are located south of the city ...
(red)
The Saint-Émilion classification
Missing from the 1855 list, the Bordeaux region of Saint-Émilion offered its own classification in 1955 to improve market demand and prices. The
Classification of Saint-Émilion wine
In 1955, the wines of Saint-Émilion in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux were classified. Unlike the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 covering wines from the Médoc and Graves regions, the Saint-Émilion list is updated every 10 ye ...
differs from the 1855 list in that it is updated approximately every ten years based on new assessments of quality. For each new release of the classification, wines may be promoted or demoted within the list. A wine may even be removed entirely, while other unclassified wines may be added. In 2006, for example, eleven wines were removed from the list, six new wines added, and two existing wines promoted to a higher division.
The Saint-Émilion Classification currently labels 15 wines as First Growths. These ''Premiers Grands Crus Classés'', subdivided into two further classes : ''A'' (2 wines) and ''B'' (13 wines). A further 64 wines are currently classified as ''Grands Crus Classés''.
Premiers Grands Crus Classés A
*
Château Ausone
Château Ausone is a Bordeaux wine from Saint-Émilion appellation, previously ranked Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine but does not hold this rank after the 2022 reclassification. The winery is loca ...
*
Château Cheval Blanc
Château Cheval Blanc (French for "White Horse Castle"), is a wine producer in Saint-Émilion in the Bordeaux wine region of France. Its wine received the highest rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) status in the Classification of Saint-Émi ...
Château Bélair-Monange
Château Bélair-Monange, named until 2007 'Château Belair'', is a Bordeaux vineyard from the appellationbr>Saint-Émilion Grand Cru ranked Premier grand cru classé B' in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The winery is located in the R ...
Château Figeac
Château-Figeac is a wine estate in the Saint-Émilion appellation of Bordeaux.
, it is one of two chateaux to carry the highest rank (Premier Grand Cru Classé A) in the official Classification of Saint-Émilion wine (2022 classification, val ...
*
Clos Fourtet
Clos Fourtet, previously Château Clos Fourtet and archaically Camfourtet, is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked ''Premier grand cru classé B'' in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The Clos Fourtet winery is loca ...
Château La Gaffelière Château La Gaffelière, previously Château Gaffelière-Naudes, is a Bordeaux wine from the Saint-Émilion appellation, ranked among the Premiers grands crus classés B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The winery is located west of Ch ...
Château Troplong Mondot
Château Troplong Mondot is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked ''Premier grand cru classé B'' in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The winery is located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux wine region in the ...
Pomerol has refused to create any sort of classification scheme but it has produced red wines that are among the most expensive in the world, such as Petrus.