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 which were to be on display for visitors from around the
world.
Brokers from the wine industry ranked the wines according to a château's reputation
and trading price, which at that time was directly related to quality.
The wines were ranked in importance from first to fifth growths.
All of the red wines that made it on the list came from the Médoc region except for one:
Château Haut-Brion from Graves.
The white wines, then of much less importance than red wine, were limited to the sweet varieties
of Sauternes and Barsac and were ranked only from first great growth to second growth.
Changes to the classification Within each category, the various châteaux
are ranked in order of quality and only twice since the 1855 classification has there been
a change, first when in 1856 Cantemerle was added as a fifth growth and, more significantly,
in 1973, when Château Mouton Rothschild was elevated from a second growth to a first growth
vineyard after decades of intense lobbying by the powerful Philippe de Rothschild.
A third, but less known "change", is the removal of Château Dubignon, a third growth from
Margaux that was absorbed into the estate Château Malescot St. Exupéry.
A superficial change is that since 1855, when only five of the estates were styled with
the word "château" in their name, most Bordeaux wine estates now use this nomenclature.
Critique As a classification of châteaux, the actual
vineyards owned by some wineries have expanded, shrunk and been divided without any reclassification,
and considerable plots of valued terroir have changed ownership.
Many wine critics have argued that the 1855 Classification became outdated and does not
provide an accurate guide to the quality of the wines being made on each estate.
Several proposals have been made for changes to the classification, and a bid for a revision
was unsuccessfully attempted in 1960.
Alexis Lichine, a member of the 1960 revision panel, launched a campaign to implement changes
that lasted over thirty years, in the process publishing several editions of his own unofficial
classification.
Other critics have followed a similar suit, including Robert Parker who published a top
100 Bordeaux estates in 1985 and L'histoire de la vigne & du vin by Bernard and Henri
Enjalbert in 1989, as well as efforts made by Clive Coates and David Peppercorn.
Ultimately nothing has come of them; the likely negative impact on prices for any downgraded
châteaux and the 1855 establishment's political muscle are considered among the reasons.
In March 2009, the British wine exchange Liv-ex released a modern re-calculation of the 1855
classification, with an aim to apply the original method to the contemporary economical context.
Many of the leading estates from the Médoc appellation that were not included in the
1855 classification are classified as Cru Bourgeois, a classification system that has
been updated on a regular basis since 1932, banned in 2007, but reinstated in 2010.
The Médoc Classification of 1855 In French Les Grands Crus classés en 1855.
The estates are listed with their commune, and their AOC in parenthesis, if different
from the commune.
The 19th-century names appear as listed by the brokers on April 18, 1855, followed by
the modern names, as the use of "second cru" for red wines and "deuxième cru" for white
wines.
The Red Wines of the Gironde First Growths
Château Lafite, now Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac
Château Latour, Pauillac Château Margaux, Margaux
Haut-Brion, now Château Haut-Brion, Pessac, Graves
Mouton, now Château Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac Second Growths
Rauzan-Ségla, now Château Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux
Rauzan-Gassies, now Château Rauzan-Gassies, Margaux
Léoville, now Château Léoville-Las Cases, St.-Julien
Château Léoville-Poyferré, St.-Julien Château Léoville-Barton, St.-Julien
Vivens Durfort, now Château Durfort-Vivens, Margaux
Gruaud-Laroze, now Château Gruaud-Larose, St.-Julien
Lascombes, now Château Lascombes, Margaux Brane, now Château Brane-Cantenac, Cantenac-Margaux
Pichon Longueville, now Château Pichon Longueville Baron, Pauillac
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Pauillac
Ducru Beau Caillou, now Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, St.-Julien
Cos Destournel, now Château Cos d'Estournel, St.-Estèphe
Montrose, now Château Montrose, St.-Estèphe Third Growths
Kirwan, now Château Kirwan, Cantenac-Margaux Château d'Issan, Cantenac-Margaux
Lagrange, Château Lagrange, St.-Julien Langoa, now Château Langoa-Barton, St.-Julien
Giscours, now Château Giscours, Labarde-Margaux St.-Exupéry, now Château Malescot St. Exupéry,
Margaux Boyd, now
Château Cantenac-Brown, Cantenac-Margaux Château Boyd-Cantenac, Margaux
Palmer, now Château Palmer, Cantenac-Margaux Lalagune, now Château La Lagune, Ludon
Desmirail, now Château Desmirail, Margaux Dubignon, later Château Dubignon, Margaux
Calon, now Château Calon-Ségur, St.-Estèphe Ferrière, now Château Ferrière, Margaux
Becker, now Château Marquis d'Alesme Becker, Margaux
Fourth Growths St.-Pierre, now Château Saint-Pierre, St.-Julien
Talbot, now Château Talbot, St.-Julien Du-Luc, now Château Branaire-Ducru, St.-Julien
Duhart, now Château Duhart-Milon, Pauillac Pouget-Lassale and Pouget, both now Château
Pouget, Cantenac-Margaux Carnet, now Château La Tour Carnet, St.-Laurent
Rochet, now Château Lafon-Rochet, St.-Estèphe Château de Beychevele, now Château Beychevelle,
St.-Julien Le Prieuré, now Château Prieuré-Lichine,
Cantenac-Margaux Marquis de Thermes, now Château Marquis de
Terme, Margaux Fifth Growths
Canet, now Château Pontet-Canet, Pauillac Batailley, now
Château Batailley, Pauillac Château Haut-Batailley, Pauillac
Grand Puy, now Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac
Artigues Arnaud, now Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse, Pauillac
Lynch, now Château Lynch-Bages, Pauillac Lynch Moussas, now Château Lynch-Moussas,
Pauillac Dauzac, now Château Dauzac, Labarde
Darmailhac, now Château d'Armailhac, Pauillac Le Tertre, now Château du Tertre, Arsac
Haut Bages, now Château Haut-Bages-Libéral, Pauillac
Pédesclaux, now Château Pédesclaux, Pauillac Coutenceau, now Château Belgrave, St.-Laurent
Camensac, now Château de Camensac, St.-Laurent Cos Labory, now Château Cos Labory, St.-Estèphe
Clerc Milon, now Château Clerc-Milon, Pauillac Croizet-Bages, now Château Croizet Bages,
Pauillac Cantemerle, now Château Cantemerle, Macau
The White Wines of the Gironde [Barsac estates may be labelled with the appellation
Barsac or Sauternes.]
Superior First Growth Yquem, now Château d'Yquem, Sauternes
First Growths Latour Blanche, now Château La Tour Blanche,
Bommes Peyraguey, now
Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Bommes Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey, Bommes
Vigneau, now Château de Rayne-Vigneau, Bommes Suduiraut, now Château Suduiraut, Preignac
Coutet, now Château Coutet, Barsac Climens, now Château Climens, Barsac
Bayle, now Château Guiraud, Sauternes Rieusec, now Château Rieussec, Fargues
Rabeaud, now Château Rabaud-Promis, Bommes
Château Sigalas-Rabaud, Bommes
Second Growths Mìrat, now Château de Myrat, Barsac
Doisy, now Château Doisy Daëne, Barsac
Château Doisy-Dubroca, Barsac Château Doisy-Védrines, Barsac
Pexoto, now part of Château Rabaud-Promis D’arche, now Château d'Arche, Sauternes
Filhot, now Château Filhot, Sauternes Broustet Nérac, now
Château Broustet, Barsac Château Nairac, Barsac
Caillou, now Château Caillou, Barsac Suau, now Château Suau, Barsac
Malle, now Château de Malle, Preignac Romer, now
Château Romer, Fargues Château Romer du Hayot, Fargues
Lamothe, now Château Lamothe, Sauternes
Château Lamothe-Guignard, Sauternes
See also Classification of Graves wine
Classification of Saint-Émilion wine Regional wine classification
History of Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine regions
Judgment of Paris Notes and references
General
Footnotes
External links Great Growths of 1855 official site