Context: This is an
exercise in 'vinitainment', not a serious attempt to subvert 159 years of
tradition. Though, by 'tradition' I mean bureaucratic conformity.
Any lover of wine
who studies Bordeaux learns of the famed 1855 classification and wonders
about its relevance in the modern world. Originally created at the request of
Napoleon III to communicate to the visitors of that year’s Exposition Universelle in Paris which of Bordeaux’s many châteaux
produced the “best” wines. The 1855 classification was a collaborative effort
by the region’s negociant (wine brokers) based on a review of each established
château’s reputation and the quality of its wines which directly affected the
trading price the negociant could, well, negotiate. Essentially, the theory was
people will pay more for prestige (both actual and perceived) and quality,
therefore, these principles should form the basis of the ranking system: aka,
money talks.
Today, people are
exactly the same. Today’s Bordeaux landscape reflects this pay for prestige
mentality with many lower or un-classified wines repeatedly commanding higher
prices than supposedly ‘superior’ wines (based on their historical
classification) thanks to higher scores from critics and changing palates. The
1855 ranking simply doesn’t match the modern market where consumers are
rewarding château with their patronage who have earned their enhanced
reputations thanks to investments made in their vineyards and the use of
modernized winemaking techniques.
Not to mention the most
glaringly obvious omission of the 1855 classification, by today’s standards, is
that Right Bank wines were never included. This was due to the fact that, in
1855, Right Bank wines were yet to attract the international recognition their
Left Bank cousins had been afforded since the British occupied Aquitaine. Right
Bank wines were classified separately in the twentieth century, within their
own communes, in an attempt to set-up their own regional hierarchy. However,
too many classifications creates confusion for consumers and it’s time for a
do-over; one rank to rule them all.
Thus, I offer-up a
modernized classification of Bordeaux châteaux based on the original concept
that a wine’s ranking should be based on the price it can fetch on the open
market, which, in turn, is based on its perceived prestige and the points it
gets awarded routinely by established critics. We’ll call this new
classification “3P” for Prestige, Points and (most importantly) Price.
Criteria:
- Red wines from all
Bordeaux AOC (Left and Right Bank) have been considered.
- Sauternes/Barsac wines
have been included.
- Dry white wines, never
part of the original classification, have been excluded.
- Classification is based
solely on the Chateaux’s primary/namesake wine. “2nd Label” wines
have been excluded.
Second Growth - coming soon
Third Growth - coming soon
Fourth Growth - coming soon
Fifth Growth - coming soon
