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Bordeaux Classifications: New Plans

First see Part 1: Bordeaux Classifications: Recent Collapses (31/3/07)

Recent developments in the classification of Bordeaux chateaux have proved disastrous, with recent revisions of both the St Emilion and Cru Bourgeois classifications looking decidedly shaky. The former has been overturned in court, and I suspect the latter faces the same fate, as I detailed in my introduction to the woes of the classification systems in Bordeaux. The problems are numerous, with conflict of interest being the main concern of Philippe Thevenin, the lawyer now involved, although the classifications have several other flaws. Not least of these is the judging of some properties on wines that predate the arrival of the current owner, and the inclusion of price in the rating. Fortunately, there is hope on the horizon, as the INAO is set to take control of the wayward ship that carries these classification systems, and steer it towards calmer waters, with the introduction of a single, compulsory, Bordeaux-wide classification which will replace all those currently in existence.

First to welcome news of the new classification system was Alain Reynaud of Pomerol micro-estate Croix de Gay, although today he is perhaps equally well known for his labours at Lascombes, and his opinions were echoed by Michel Rolland, a member of the classification committee, who consults at this Margaux deuxième cru. I recently spoke to Raynaud, who as a qualified physician was once more used to practising medicine then tending to the vines, about the new plans. "We stand to do very well in this new classification", he admitted to me. "The changes we have made over the past few years are obvious determinants of our future success". Rolland, who has an interest in many estates other than Lascombes, was nevertheless just as enthusiastic. "Making wine for the modern palate is a simple process", he remarked, "there is a recipe for quality with modern Bordeaux, and in a similar vein there is a simple recipe for attaining a high ranking in the new 2007 classification, as it depends on commitment, focus, and even terroir, but most of all it demands a tastefully designed bottle". Raynaud chipped in to support this sentiment. "As always, Rolland is right", he intoned in a grave manner. "With our pink capsule, adorned with a sixteen-pointed compass star, we have high hopes at leading the pack at our level, if not trumping the first growths, as they currently stand, entirely".

The new classification, already dubbed the 2007 'Fancy Capsule' classification, is the brainchild of an INAO committee working in combination with some of the leading lights in Bordeaux, including Philippe Castéja, current President of the Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855 and head of the Borie-Manoux négociant firm, world famous oenologist Michel Rolland and Anthony Barton of the two Barton estates Léoville and Langoa-Barton. Obviously, all of these individuals have undergone INAO screening procedures designed to uncover any possible conflicts of interest, and I am glad to report that all have come up clean as a whistle. In keeping with current EU regulations concerning independent representation on government-funded organisational committees, however, Gerard Depardieu, best known for his roles in such classic films as Asterix the Gaul and Green Card as well as his consumptive ability, has also taken a place. Working largely behind closed doors the team, who came together in late 2005, examined all the aspects of a wine which were both easily assessed and which bore a direct correlation with its absolute quality. When I asked Castéja why the team hadn't simply assessed the wines through tasting, the answer was clear. Well, actually that's not true, there was no answer at all, because he failed to respond to my carefully crafted enquiries, written in perfect French, despite attempting to contact him through the new graphic and flash-rich, all-singing and all-dancing but plainly useless Conseil des Grands Crus Classés website. So instead I asked Depardieu to explain the reasoning behind the newest Bordeaux classification.

"It is quite straightforward", he replied, "it is a three-tier system, replacing the confusing myriad of classifications that currently beleaguer the vignerons and consumers of Bordeaux. There will be no more quatrièmes and cinquièmes crus, no more grands crus, grands crus classés and levels A, B or whatever. The judgement will be made on the capsule of a single vintage, the 2005, so new proprietors are not unfairly disadvantaged by the wines of the previous owner. This is a superb system for those who, having recently spent millions of Euros purchasing and renovating a chateau and vineyard, then find they are judged on the wines made by the predecessor, who probably augmented his yields by urinating in the vats. Here, we level the playing field, as we don't actually taste the wines". Responding to my surprise at hearing this, Depardieu continued, "we looked at many of the factors which can be used to make a professional assessment of the wine, including visual inspection, tasting and rating by scores, and laboratory analysis. We quickly concluded that the latter two were rather meaningless. We scored the wines using the American 12 point scale, which runs from the low score of everything-less-than-90 up to the perfect score of 100+ usually only given to micro-cuvées from Chateauneuf du Pape, and found it inadequate for a true rating of the wines. We tended to score most wines 91-94, and then to look up what Parker had said and adjust our own opinion accordingly, up to 100 if necessary", Depardieu admitted. "It is a sad indictment of the tasting ability of a Frenchman such as myself", he confessed, "but we are lost without Parker. Secondly, the laboratory analysis was out of the question, as the only lab that could take on this volume of work was Rolland's, and have you seen what he charges? No. In the end, we decided to go for a visual characteristic, which was when Castéja came up with the capsule idea".

The 2007 'Fancy Capsule' Classification of Bordeaux

As Depardieu then explained to me, under the new scheme, colour of capsule determines the ranking of the wine. I have tried to recount the details of the new classification as accurately as possible, highlighted by his examples wherever I can remember them:

Premiers Crus

The following capsule colours are eligible for first growth status; pink, especially metallic pink such as Chateau Larmande. Duller pinks such as Lascombes are also eligible, although a 'fancy' decoration such as the golden compass helps considerably. Also bronze and metallic peach, such as Vieux-Chateau-Certan and St-Pierre (shown here with some natty silver keys, which only serve to push its 'fancy' ranking even higher). Jean-Louis Triaud of St-Pierre welcomed the news. "It is really the right time for St-Pierre to be recognised in this manner, after we have invested so much. We have always been really proud of our capsule". When asked if this new ranking, which sees St-Pierre rocket from fourth to first growth, would have any effect on the pricing for the 2006 vintage, Triaud responded in the negative. "Of course not", was the retort. "We were going to keep our prices sky high anyway". Other colours, such as the silver capsule of Pomerol micro-cuvée Fleur de Gay are eligible, as is the blue capsule of Clos de l'Oratoire. In fact, any capsule with a very high 'fanciness' score, as determined by the INAO-sponsored committee, is included at this level. Capsules with a rich yellow colour, although initially expected to rank here as they are quite nice to look at, especially with a matching yellow label, were eventually placed at the next level. Specifically excluded from this level are the following colours; black, even if detailed with trim of a 'fancy' colour, as well as red and gold, which were deemed to be passé. Of note, the INAO committee are currently considering an application for first growth status from Italy's Tenuta San Guido, home to Super-Tuscan Sassicaia, which with its electric blue capsule topped by a golden star, has a very high 'fancy' rating. It is not known if there is any plan to move the vineyards in question, although the committee indicated that as long as the Sassacaia estate purchased property in Bordeaux, such as a small outside toilet, the Sassacaia wines would be eligible for consideration regardless of where they were made.

Deuxièmes Crus

Wines ranked at this level are predominantly those with gold capsules, such as Chateau Talbot. Other colours are also featured at this level, including rich yellow hues, such as that worn by Lafon-Rochet, which saw an image overhaul only a few vintages ago. Michel Tesseron is widely reported to be fuming, not so much at the refusal of the INAO committee to rank his wine as a Premier Cru based on the attractive colour of the capsule, which he considers quite 'fancy', but at the secretive nature of the process. "If the committee were more open about their deliberations and details of the criteria, we would have naturally chosen a different capsule colour. As it is now we must change, probably to something a little more peachy. Obviously this will incur costs which I can only imagine being passed onto the consumer, as we simply don't have the funds to absorb this new development. These are hard times in Bordeaux for the classed growth chateaux, and this is another nail in the coffin for the security of the future of classed growth estates like ourselves. If the prix de sortie of the 2006 vintage is high, I suggest consumers blame the INAO committee".

Troisièmes Crus

Capsules eligible for third growth status are in the main red, although black is also permitted. Here the vast majority of the Bordeaux estates are ranked, including such old stalwarts as Léoville-Las-Cases, as well as estates previously regarded as of lesser potential (obviously incorrectly, as this new classification informs us), such as Coufran and also the eternally under-rated Fronsac property of Chateau la Rivière. Faced with his new position alongside such minor estates, Jean-Hubert Delon was seemingly nonchalant. "Our wine has always been highly regarded by the trade and the consumers in the know, and this new classification is of no consequence. What is important is that the wine is always the best that it can be, and we have certainly achieved that with 2006. It is a fine vintage, where strict selection and great care in the chai has produced wines to match 2005 in every way, except for the fact that they are only half as good. Which means we should be able to scale back prices a generous 50% - sorry I mean a generous 15% - so they will only be a little more expensive than the 2004s, and almost every other vintage you care to think about". Rumours that Delon was seen pocketing a Lascombes capsule on a visit to the estate in Margaux in March 2007 are as yet unsubstantiated.

I think it is probably Rolland, not Depardieu, that should have the last word on the 2007 'Fancy Capsule' Classification of Bordeaux. I caught him just as he was departing for Germany, where he has just been invited to consult at Blue Nun, following a tragic sequence of events culminating in a high speed pedalo accident on the Rhine that resulted in Abbess Hildegard Schtoppenfloppen lapsing into a deep coma. I asked Rolland the obvious question, concerning the long-term viability of the classification. If wines are ranked by 'fancy' capsule status, wouldn't it be only natural for the proprietors of low ranked chateaux to simply replace their red or black capsule with a new, metallic mint-green and electric-pink striped affair, perhaps adorned with silver bells and dancing, jewel-encrusted fairies? Would we not a be about to witness a fancy-capsulisation of all Bordeaux, as proprietors strive to give the FCC committee what they want, rather than concentrating on the quality of the wine, and what they give the consumer? "Not at all", came his reply, delivered in a peremptory, rapid-fire response which brought me quickly to attention. "That is ridiculous, akin to suggesting that proprietors and oenologists follow a recipe with the sole aim of accruing Parker points". These were his final words to me as he jumped into his chauffer-driven Mercedes, Bordeaux already forgotten, his foremost thoughts probably the micro-oxygenation and new oak regime that would best suit a grand German Riesling. Only my old friend, Abbess Hildegard, can prevent this travesty...I pray for her awakening soon. (1/4/07)