Bordeaux Classification

Bordeaux

There are 57 wine regions in Bordeaux produce high-quality wines that are allowed to carry the AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controlee) designation on the label. Some famous places:

• Medoc (left bank) - Cabernet-style, produces only red wines
  
• Haut Medoc, St-Estephe, Pauillac, St-Julien, Margaux, Moulis, Listrac
• Graves / Pessac-Leognan (left bank) - Cabernet-style, both red and dry white
• Pomerol (right bank) - Merlot-style, only red
• St-Emilion (right bank) - Merlot-style, only red
  

Major Bordeaux classifications

In 1855, Bordeaux officially classified the quality levels of some its chateaux. Brokers from the vine industry were asked by Napoleon III to select the best wines to represent France in the International Exposition in 1855. In the Medoc, the 61 highest-level chateaux are called Grand Cru Classe. There are also 247 chateaux in the Medoc that are entitled to be called Cru Bourgeois, a step below Grand Cru Classe. Other areas, such as St-Emilion and Graves, have their own classification systems.

• Medoc
• Grand Crus Classe - 1855; 61 chateaux
• First Growths - Premiers Crus (5)
• Second Growths - Deuxiemes Crus (14)
• Third Growths - Troisiemes Crus (14)
• Fourth Growths - Quatriemes Crus (10)
• Fifth Growths - Cinquiemes Crus (18)
• Crus Bourgeois - 1920, revised 1932, 1978, and 2003; 247 chateaux
• Graves (Grand Crus Classe) : 1959; 16 chateaux
• Pomerol : no official classification
• St-Emilion : 1955, revised 1996, revised 2006; 15 Premiers Grand Crus Classe and 46 Grand Crus Classe.

According to French law, a chateaux is a house attached to a vineyard having a specific number of acres, as well as having winemaking and storage facilities on the property. A wine may not called a chateaux wine unless it meets these criteria.

As read from the Kevin Zraly's Box Score of the 1855 classification:

• Pauillac has three of the five first growths and 12 fifth growths
• Margaux has most of the third growths in the left bank
• Margaux has the greatest number of classed vineyards in all of Medoc. It is also the only area to have a chateaux rated in each category.
• St-Julien has no first or fifth growths, but is very strong in the second and fourth.

Second-label wines are from the youngest parts of the vineyard and are lighter in style and quicker to mature but are usually a third the price of the chateaux wine.

First Growths

• Chateaux Lafite-Rothschild (Pauillac) - Carruades de Lafite Rothschild
• Chateaux Latour (Pauillac) - Les Forts de Latour
• Chateaux Margaux (Margaux) - Pavillon Rouge du Chateaux Margaux
• Chateaux Haut-Brion (Pessac-Leognan (Graves)) - Bahans du Chateaux Haut-Brion
• Chateaux Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac) - Petit Mouton

Second Growths

• Chateaux Leoville-Barton (St-Juilen) -La Reserve de Leoville Barton
• Chateaux Leoville-Las-Cases (St-Juilen) - Clos du Marquis
• Chateaux Pichon Lalande (Pauillac) - Reserve de la Comtesse
• Chateaux Pichon Longueville (Pauillac) - Les Tourelles de Pichon

Third Growths

• Chateaux Palmer (Margaux) - Reserve du General

Fourth Growths

• Chateaux St-Pierre (St-Julien)

Fifth Growths

• Chateaux Lynch-Bages (Pauillac) - Chateaux Haut Bages-Averous

Other Quality Levels

Bordeaux - sometimes known as the "proprietary" wines. It is the least expensive AOC wines in Bordeau. Some famous brand name, e.g. Mouton-Cadet, Lauretan, Lacour Pavillon, Baron Philippe, Michel Lynch.

Bordeaux + Region - come from one of the 57 different regions. Only grapes and wines made in those areas can be called by their region names, e.g., Pauillac and St-Emilion. They are more expansive than those labeled simply Bordeaux. The major shippers of regional wines form Bordeaux are: Barton & Guestier (B&G), Cordier, Dourthe Kressmann, Eschenauer, Sichel, Yvon Mau, Ets J-P Moueix, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Borie-Manoux, and Dulong.