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Graves 1959 Classification

The 1855 classifications of the Médoc, Sauternes and Barsac ignored what are undoubtedly very important regions of Bordeaux, notably St Emilion, Pomerol and Graves. This latter exclusion is perhaps somewhat surprising, as the wines of Graves were hardly unknown at the time, as evinced by the inclusion of Haut-Brion at the first growth level in the Médoc classification. Determined to protect and promote the identity of the region, the Graves Syndicat were eager to put forward their own classification, although they were not able to achieve this until almost a century had passed.

Although most resources refer to an initial classification having been drawn up in 1953 and subsequently ratified in 1959, it appears that this might be an erroneous view. The 1953 classification was official, following its ratification by ministerial decree in 1958 (source: the Syndicat des Crus Classés de Graves). The classification was then renewed the following year, with the addition of five new wines (the whites Couhins, Latour-Martillac and Malartic-Lagravière, and the reds Fieuzal and Pape-Clément). It is this 1959 classification that has been carried through to modern day, with no significant changes.

The issue of Haut-Brion sometimes causes some confusion as to its ranking in Bordeaux classifications. The chateau was ranked along with those of the Médoc in 1855, as a first growth, although obviously this applies only to its red wine - there is no such thing as a white Médoc, after all. The estate was also included in the Graves classification in 1953, although again only for its red wine - the white wine is produced in such tiny quantities that, like the proprietors of Fieuzal, the Dillon family at Haut-Brion did not ask for its inclusion. Several sources have since reported that the white wine was then retrospectively incorporated into the classification in 1960, such as the British author George Rainbird writing in his 1983 Illustrated Guide to Wine, and it is also included in the system by Tom Stevenson, writing in his excellent Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia, although today the Dillon family deny that this is the case. And so my account of the classified estates below reflect this; Haut-Brion is included with the reds, but not the whites.

The classification itself is a simple one-tier system, with no ranking within the categories, and the properties are listed alphabetically. It is today grossly deficient, in that it is not only outdated but refers to only a tiny handful of Graves properties. As such it is really only of historical interest. A revision of the classification, which is looking increasingly likely, would answer this criticism not only by providing an update and opening it up to good estates in Pessac-Léognan currently not ranked, such as Brown, Les Carmes Haut-Brion and Larrivet-Haut-Brion, but by also broadening its scope to take in the estates of Graves as a whole, rather than just those of the Pessac-Léognan enclave. Many properties throughout the region currently not included in the classification would be sure to benefit, and I look forward to seeing this happening.