Classification of Saint-Émilion wine
Encyclopedia
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 Medoc
and Graves
regions, the Saint-Émilion list is updated every 10 years or so. Following the initial classification, the list was updated in 1969, 1986, 1996 and most recently in 2006. However the 2006 classification was declared invalid following a series of legal actions, and the 1996 version of the classification has been reinstated for the vintages from 2006 to 2009.
The region's Syndicat Viticole started planning for a classification of St.-Émilion wine in 1930, but it was not until October 7, 1954 that the principles behind the classification became official when the INAO
agreed to take responsibility for handling the classification. The first list of classified St.-Émilion estates was published on June 16, 1955, and was amended on August 7 and October 18, 1958. The original list contained 12 Premier grands crus classés and 63 Grands crus classés.
and Château de la Marzelle - and has resulted in several confusing legal turns during 2007 and 2008 that currently mean that the 2006 classification is invalid and the 1996 classification is applied instead. The legal dispute has centered on the fact that several members of the panel involved in assessing the wines had vested interests (e.g. as négociant
s with business dealings with some of the châteaux), and thus could be suspected of not being impartial.
Initially, an administrative tribunal in Bordeaux declared the classification temporarily suspended in March 2007, after which a Bordeaux court suspended the classification indefinitely by denying a motion to lift the initial suspension. After that the Conseil d'État, the French supreme administrative court, on November 12, 2007 overturned the suspension of the 2006 classification, thereby reinstating it. However, this ruling was not final, and only decided that the case of the four demoted châteaux did not merit a suspension of the entire classification. The matter was returned to a Bordeaux court to assess if the complaining châteux had been fairly treated. On July 1, 2008 this court ruled that the wine tasting mechanism used in the 2006 classification was not impartial, thus again making the entire classification invalid.
Immediately after the ruling, it was estimated that a further appeals process aiming at reinstating the classification could take about two years, and would have an uncertain result. This led the French regulatory body for wine, INAO
, to request the French Government to use emergency powers to reinstate St.-Émilion classification, which it did on July 11, 2008. This decision extended the validity of the 1996 classification to the vintages 2006 to 2009. Thus, the complaining demoted châteaux are able to keep their classification, but those who were newly promoted are not. Presumably, this measure will allow INAO to arrange for a less contested classification to be finalised by around 2010.
The reaction among the estates who had their promotions retracted, such as Grand Corbin-Despagne
, Monbousquet
, Pavie-Macquin
and Troplong Mondot
, was one of despair, who beyond facing financial consequences stated the decision was unjust, and damaging to the image and community of St.-Émilion.
Xavier Pariente of Troplong-Mondot said, "That's almost 20 years of hard work and investment by all the personnel here wiped out at the stroke of a pen. It frightens me and it revolts me”.
In December 2008, the French senate had allowed the 8 demoted estates to regain their previous status, with Pavie-Macquin and Troplong Mondot returning to Premiers grands crus classés, while Bellefond-Belcier, Destieux, Fleur-Cardinale, Grand Corbin, Grand Corbin-Despagne, and Monbousquet again to become classified as Grands crus classés, as a result of several months of lobbying. However, in January 2009 this proposal was thrown out by the French government constitutional council.
In March 2009, it was stated that the French Court of Appeal had made a final ruling, that the 2006 Saint-Émilion classification will not stand, although the ultimate outcome was the opposite. A law passed on May 13, 2009 contained a footnote clarifying that the six chateaux promoted to Grand Cru Classe in 2006 would be able to keep their status with immediate effect, and date it back to the date of the classification, therefore the status of the classified estates of 1996, plus the eight chateaux promoted in 2006, is mandated by law until 2011, two years beyond what was previously scheduled.
Saint-Émilion AOC
Saint-Émilion is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée for wine in the Bordeaux wine region of France, where it is situated in the Libourne subregion on the right bank of the Dordogne...
in the wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
-growing region of Bordeaux
Bordeaux wine
A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world...
were classified. Unlike the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855
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 which were to be on display for visitors from around the world...
covering wines from the Medoc
Médoc
The Médoc 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 Medullicus, or "country of the Medulli", the local Celtic tribe...
and Graves
Graves
Graves is an important subregion of the Bordeaux wine region. Graves is situated on the left bank of the Garonne river, in the upstream part of the region, southeast of the city Bordeaux and stretch over...
regions, the Saint-Émilion list is updated every 10 years or so. Following the initial classification, the list was updated in 1969, 1986, 1996 and most recently in 2006. However the 2006 classification was declared invalid following a series of legal actions, and the 1996 version of the classification has been reinstated for the vintages from 2006 to 2009.
The region's Syndicat Viticole started planning for a classification of St.-Émilion wine in 1930, but it was not until October 7, 1954 that the principles behind the classification became official when the INAO
Institut National des Appellations d'Origine
The Institut National des Appellations d'Origine is the French organization charged with regulating French agricultural products with Protected Designations of Origin . Controlled by the French government, it forms part of the Ministry of Agriculture...
agreed to take responsibility for handling the classification. The first list of classified St.-Émilion estates was published on June 16, 1955, and was amended on August 7 and October 18, 1958. The original list contained 12 Premier grands crus classés and 63 Grands crus classés.
Controversy surrounding the 2006 classification
The fifth classification of St.-Émilion wine, announced in September 2006 and comprising 15 Premiers grands crus classés and 46 Grands crus classés, was challenged by four dissatisfied producers that had been demoted - La Tour du Pin Figeac, Cadet Bon, GuadetChâteau Guadet
Château Guadet is a winery in Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux, France. It bears its current name from 2005, and previously was known as Château Guadet Saint-Julien from 1844 to 2004...
and Château de la Marzelle - and has resulted in several confusing legal turns during 2007 and 2008 that currently mean that the 2006 classification is invalid and the 1996 classification is applied instead. The legal dispute has centered on the fact that several members of the panel involved in assessing the wines had vested interests (e.g. as négociant
Négociant
A négociant is the French term for a wine merchant who assembles the produce of smaller growers and winemakers and sells the result under its own name....
s with business dealings with some of the châteaux), and thus could be suspected of not being impartial.
Initially, an administrative tribunal in Bordeaux declared the classification temporarily suspended in March 2007, after which a Bordeaux court suspended the classification indefinitely by denying a motion to lift the initial suspension. After that the Conseil d'État, the French supreme administrative court, on November 12, 2007 overturned the suspension of the 2006 classification, thereby reinstating it. However, this ruling was not final, and only decided that the case of the four demoted châteaux did not merit a suspension of the entire classification. The matter was returned to a Bordeaux court to assess if the complaining châteux had been fairly treated. On July 1, 2008 this court ruled that the wine tasting mechanism used in the 2006 classification was not impartial, thus again making the entire classification invalid.
Immediately after the ruling, it was estimated that a further appeals process aiming at reinstating the classification could take about two years, and would have an uncertain result. This led the French regulatory body for wine, INAO
Institut National des Appellations d'Origine
The Institut National des Appellations d'Origine is the French organization charged with regulating French agricultural products with Protected Designations of Origin . Controlled by the French government, it forms part of the Ministry of Agriculture...
, to request the French Government to use emergency powers to reinstate St.-Émilion classification, which it did on July 11, 2008. This decision extended the validity of the 1996 classification to the vintages 2006 to 2009. Thus, the complaining demoted châteaux are able to keep their classification, but those who were newly promoted are not. Presumably, this measure will allow INAO to arrange for a less contested classification to be finalised by around 2010.
The reaction among the estates who had their promotions retracted, such as Grand Corbin-Despagne
Château Grand Corbin-Despagne
Château Grand Corbin-Despagne is a wine from the Saint-Émilion appellation of the Bordeaux wine region of France, ranked a Grand Cru in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine...
, Monbousquet
Château Monbousquet
Château Monbousquet is a Bordeaux wine which has the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine...
, Pavie-Macquin
Château Pavie-Macquin
Château Pavie-Macquin 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 one of three Pavie estates, along with Château Pavie and Château Pavie-Decesse, located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux...
and Troplong Mondot
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...
, was one of despair, who beyond facing financial consequences stated the decision was unjust, and damaging to the image and community of St.-Émilion.
Xavier Pariente of Troplong-Mondot said, "That's almost 20 years of hard work and investment by all the personnel here wiped out at the stroke of a pen. It frightens me and it revolts me”.
In December 2008, the French senate had allowed the 8 demoted estates to regain their previous status, with Pavie-Macquin and Troplong Mondot returning to Premiers grands crus classés, while Bellefond-Belcier, Destieux, Fleur-Cardinale, Grand Corbin, Grand Corbin-Despagne, and Monbousquet again to become classified as Grands crus classés, as a result of several months of lobbying. However, in January 2009 this proposal was thrown out by the French government constitutional council.
In March 2009, it was stated that the French Court of Appeal had made a final ruling, that the 2006 Saint-Émilion classification will not stand, although the ultimate outcome was the opposite. A law passed on May 13, 2009 contained a footnote clarifying that the six chateaux promoted to Grand Cru Classe in 2006 would be able to keep their status with immediate effect, and date it back to the date of the classification, therefore the status of the classified estates of 1996, plus the eight chateaux promoted in 2006, is mandated by law until 2011, two years beyond what was previously scheduled.
The 2006 classification
The revised classification, the subject of prolonged legal dispute, comprises 13 Premiers grands crus classés and 53 Grands crus classés.| Premiers grands crus classés A | ||
|---|---|---|
| Château Ausone Château Ausone Château Ausone is a Bordeaux wine from Saint-Émilion appellation, one of only two wines, along with Château Cheval Blanc, to be ranked Premier Grand Cru Classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine... |
Château Cheval Blanc Château Cheval Blanc Château Cheval Blanc , is a wine producer in Saint-Émilion in the Bordeaux wine region of France. Its wine is one of only two to receive the highest rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé status in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine of 1955, along with Château Ausone.The estate's second wine is... |
|
| Premiers grands crus classés B | ||
| Château Angélus Château Angélus Château Angélus, until 1990 known as Château L'Angélus, or simply L'Angélus, is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Premier grand cru classé B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine... |
Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) Château Beauséjour, formerly fully titled Château Beauséjour-Duffau-Lagarrosse, is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Premier grand cru classé B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine... |
Château Beau-Séjour Bécot Château Beau-Séjour Bécot Château Beau-Séjour Bécot, formerly Château Beauséjour-Dr-Fagouet, is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Premier grand cru classé B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine... |
| Château Belair Monange Château Belair Château Belair 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 commune of Saint-Émilion, in the department Gironde... |
Château Canon Château Canon (Saint-Émilion) Château Canon, originally Clos St-Martin, is a Bordeaux wine from the Saint-Émilion appellation, ranked among the Premiers grands crus classés B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine... |
Château Figeac Château Figeac Château Figeac is a wine estate in the Saint-Émilion appellation of Bordeaux. It is the largest estate in Saint-Émilion, with of vineyards. Due to its soil, which is dominated by gravel, it is planted in grape varieties Cabernet Sauvignon , Cabernet Franc , and Merlot... |
| Clos Fourtet Clos Fourtet Clos Fourtet, previously Château Clos Fourtet and archaichally Camfourtet, is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Premier grand cru classé B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine... |
Château La Gaffelière 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... |
Château Magdelaine Château Magdelaine Château Magdelaine is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Premier grand cru classé B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine... |
| Château Pavie Château Pavie Château Pavie is a winery in Saint-Émilion in the Bordeaux region of France. It lies on the plateau to the southeast of St Emilion village. In 1954 it was classified in the second rank of the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine, as a Premier Grand Cru Classé .-History:Like other vineyards in... |
Château Trotte Vieille | Château Troplong Mondot 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... |
| Grands crus classés | ||
| Château Balestard la Tonnelle | Château Bellevue | Château Bergat |
| Château Berliquet | Château Cadet Bon | Château Cadet Piola |
| Château Canon-la-Gaffelière Château Canon-la-Gaffelière Château Canon-la-Gaffelière is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine... |
Château Cap de Mourlin | Château Chauvin |
| Château Corbin | Château Corbin Michotte | Château Dassault |
| Château Faurie de Souchard | Château Fonplégade | Château Fonroque Château Fonroque Château Fonroque is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The winery is located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux wine region in the commune of Saint-Émilion, in the department Gironde.-History:Château Fonroque... |
| Château Franc Mayne Château Franc Mayne Château Franc Mayne is a Bordeaux wine from the Appellation d'origine contrôlée of Saint-Émilion, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The estate is located on the Right Bank of France's Bordeaux wine region, in the commune of Saint-Émilion and only a kilometre away... |
Château Grand Mayne | Château Grand Pontet |
| Château Guadet Saint-Julien | Château Haut Corbin | Château Haut Sarpe |
| Château L'Arrosée | Château La Clotte | Château La Couspaude |
| Château La Dominique | Château La Marzelle | Château La Serre Château La Serre Château La Serre is a château in Gironde, Aquitane, France.... |
| Château La Tour Figeac Château La Tour Figeac Château La Tour Figeac is a Bordeaux wine estate in the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine, and is currently owned by the Rettenmaier family... |
Château La Tour du Pin Figeac (Giraud-Bélivier) Château La Tour du Pin Figeac (Giraud-Bélivier) Château La Tour du Pin Figeac is a Bordeaux wine estate in the appellation Saint-Émilion, and is currently owned by the Giraud family.- History :... |
Château La Tour du Pin Figeac (Moueix) |
| Château Laniote | Château Larcis Ducasse | Château Larmande |
| Château Laroque | Château Laroze | Château Le Prieuré |
| Château Les Grandes Murailles | Château Matras | Château Moulin du Cadet |
| Château Pavie-Decesse | Château Pavie-Macquin Château Pavie-Macquin Château Pavie-Macquin 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 one of three Pavie estates, along with Château Pavie and Château Pavie-Decesse, located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux... |
Château Petit Faurie de Soutard |
| Château Pipeau | Château Saint-Georges-Côte-Pavie | Château Soutard |
| Château Tertre Daugay | Château Villemaurine | |
| Château Yon Figeac | Clos de l'Oratoire Clos de l'Oratoire Clos de l'Oratoire is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine... |
Clos des Jacobins |
| Clos Saint-Martin | Couvent des Jacobins | |
| Former crus classés | ||
| Château Bellefont-Belcier | Château Destieux | Château Fleur-Cardinale |
| Château Grand Corbin | Château Grand Corbin-Despagne Château Grand Corbin-Despagne Château Grand Corbin-Despagne is a wine from the Saint-Émilion appellation of the Bordeaux wine region of France, ranked a Grand Cru in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine... |
Château Monbousquet Château Monbousquet Château Monbousquet is a Bordeaux wine which has the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine... |
Other categories
Over two hundred other Saint-Émilion wines carry the description "Grand Cru", however this designation is awarded under the basic appellation rules and is not part of the formal 1955 classification. Wines in this category are not seen as being of comparable quality to the Grand Cru Classés.See also
- Saint-Émilion AOCSaint-Émilion AOCSaint-Émilion is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée for wine in the Bordeaux wine region of France, where it is situated in the Libourne subregion on the right bank of the Dordogne...
- Regional wine classification
- Bordeaux wine regionsBordeaux wine regionsThe wine regions of Bordeaux are the area around the city of Bordeaux within the Gironde department of Aquitaine. The region is naturally divided by the Gironde River into a Left Bank area which includes the Médoc and the subregions of St-Estèphe, Pauillac, St.-Julien, and Margaux and a Right Bank...
- History of Bordeaux wineHistory of Bordeaux wineThe history of Bordeaux wine spans almost 2000 years to Roman times when the first vineyards were planted. In the Middle Ages, the marriage of Henry Plantagenet and Eleanor of Aquitaine opened the Bordeaux region to the English market and eventually to the world's stage...