Bordeaux - Classification Systems

Question 1

What was the 1855 grand cru classé classification based on?

Answer 1

Prices of wines

Question 2

Did this 1855 classification reflect terroir

Answer 2

No. It reflected the skill of the winemakers from different chateau and the demand for their product.

Question 3

Where are the wineries of the 1855 classification located

Answer 3

Medoc (60) and Graves (1) for the dry wines and Sauternes (26) for the sweet

Question 4

What is a ‘cru’ and how many of them are there in the 1855 classification?

Answer 4

It is a ‘growth’ which is a tier in the 1855 classification. There are five crus for the still wines of the Médoc and Graves and three crus for the sweet wines

Question 5

What are the top tier wines known as in the 1855 classification

Answer 5

Premier cru

Question 6

Name the five premier crus chateau in the 1855 classification

Answer 6

Chateau Haut Brion
Chateau Margaux
Chateau Mouton-Rothchild (1973)
Chateau Lafite
Chateau Latour

Question 7

How many estates lay in each of the subsequent crus from the 1855 class.?

Answer 7

Second Growths (14)
Third Growths (14)
Fourth Growths (10)
Fifth Growths (180

Question 8

What is a premier cru supérieur

Answer 8

It is a tier above the first growth tier of the Sauternes. Chateau d’ychem occupies the tier

Question 9

How many first growths are there in Sauternes?

Answer 9

11

Question 10

How many second growths are there in Sauternes?

Answer 10

14

Question 11

What is the controversy surrounding the 1855 classification?

Answer 11

Whether it is still holds today. The original chateau in the classifications have all changed in ownership to new owners or different generations of the same families. They likely make wine very differently to the 1855 owners of the of the original estates

Question 12

Are Cru Bourgeois wines of better quality than those of the 1855 classification?

Answer 12

No but they are still of superior quality.

Question 13

When was the original cru bourgeois classification put in place and why?

Answer 13

1932 to classify 444 of the estates which never made it in to the 1855 classification

Question 14

When and why was the cru bourgeois revised?

Answer 14

In 2010, the new rules of classification addressed the quality of production (production method and finished product) rather than the estate.

Question 15

What change occurred in 2018 to the Cru Bourgeois classification?

Answer 15

• split into three tiers cru bourgeois, cru bourgeois supérieur, cru bourgeois exceptionnel.
• title awarded every 5 years instead of annually (time consuming application
• title now based on chateau and not the wine

Question 16

why has Cru Bourgeois reinstated quality hierarchy based on wine and not chateau ?

Answer 16

-allows both producers and merchants to think longer term

Question 17

When was the St Émillion classification put in place?

Answer 17

1955

Question 18

Describe the tiers in the St. Émillion classification

Answer 18

Premier Grand cru classé A (4 - Ausone, Angelus, Pavie, Cheval Blanc), Premier Grand Cru Classé B (18), Grand Cru Classé (64)

Question 19

How often is the St. Émillion classification revised?

Answer 19

every 10 years. Last revision was 2012

Question 20

What is the St. Émillion quality hierarchy based on?

Answer 20

• wine making practices
• reputation
• commercial considerations
• blind tasting of 10 vintages

Question 21

What is St. Émillion grand cru?

Answer 21

The lowest tierof the classification. which includes over 600 chateau

Question 22

which AOP established a simple classification in 1959?

Answer 22

Graves

Question 23

How is the quality judged in the Graves classification?

Answer 23

fame, quality and tastings

Question 24

What are the members of the classification called?

Answer 24

cru classé

Question 25

What style of wine does the Graves classification cover?

Answer 25

red an white

Question 26

Does the Graves classification have a hierarchy?

Answer 26

No.

Question 27

How many chateau are in the Graves classification?

Answer 27

16

Question 28

How does the Burgundy classification differ to that of 1855 Classification?

Answer 28

Burgundy classification is based on the land and not the property

Question 29

What do Fronsac and Pomerol right bank AOPs have in common?

Answer 29

Neither have hierarchies