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St Emilion 2006 Classification

Bordeaux Wine Guide:

Introduction
History & Geography
Region 1: Graves
Region 2: Sauternes
Courtiers & Négociants
Region 3: Margaux
Region 4: St Julien
Region 5: Pauillac
Region 6: St Estèphe
Region 7: Médoc, Médoc
Osmosis & Extraction
Region 8: St Emilion
Region 9: Pomerol
Bordeaux - the Future?

Appendices:

Médoc 1855 Classification
Sauternes 1855 Classification
Graves Classification
St Emilion Classification
Cru Bourgeois Classification

The 1855 classifications of the Médoc and Sauternes did not even take into the ancient domaines of Graves, just to the south of Bordeaux, so it is perhaps not surprising that the numerous estates of Libourne, some way to the east on the right bank of the Dordogne, were similarly excluded. Nearly a century had passed before the Syndicat Viticole considered the creation of a St Emilion classification to be a worthwhile undertaking, and indeed the fruit of their subsequent labours was published exactly one hundred years after the more famous classification of the chateaux of the left bank.

The Syndicat Viticole began to lay out plans for the classification as early as 1930, but it did not really take shape until the INAO agreed to oversee its creation, beginning with a governing decree published on October 7th, 1954. The system laid out was for two broad categories, the upper tier being Premier Grand Cru Classé (which is further subdivided into the higher ranking A and lesser B categories) and the lower being Grand Cru Classé. The classification they devised would depend on submitted requests for inclusion, rather than the system in 1855 where properties were ranked by local merchants, and the ranking would be based on a tasting of ten vintages from the estate in question rather than purely value on the market, which was the key factor one hundred years previously. Crucially, it would be open to reassessment every ten years or so, setting it apart from the seemingly immutable 1855 classifications.

The initial classification was published on the 16th June 1955 and subsequently amended by decree the following August and October, the final list having 12 properties ranked as Premier Grand Cru Classé and 63 as Grand Cru Classé. The system was then revised in 1969, and again in 1986 and 1996, by which time the number of properties in the top tier was very similar at 13, but the second group had contracted somewhat, down to just 55. The most recent revision, however, saw the numbers at the top swell to 15, and lower down the numbers decreased even further to 46, as follows (2006 promotions marked by an asterisk):

St-Emilion Premiers Grands Crus Classés (Class A)

St-Emilion Premiers Grands Crus Classés (Class B)

St-Emilion Grands Crus Classés

  • Chateau L'Arrosée
  • Chateau Balestard-La-Tonnelle
  • Chateau Bellefont-Belcier*
  • Chateau Bergat
  • Chateau Berliquet
  • Chateau Cadet-Piola
  • Chateau Canon-la-Gaffelière
  • Chateau Cap-de-Mourlin
  • Chateau Chauvin
  • Chateau La Clotte
  • Chateau Corbin
  • Chateau Corbin-Michotte
  • Chateau La Couspaude
  • Couvent des Jacobins
  • Chateau Dassault
  • Chateau Destieux*
  • Chateau La Dominique
  • Chateau Fleur-Cardinale*
  • Chateau Fonplégade
  • Chateau Fonroque
  • Chateau Franc-Mayne
  • Chateau Grand-Corbin*
  • Chateau Grand-Corbin-Despagne*
  • Chateau Grand-Mayne
  • Chateau Grand-Pontet
  • Chateau Les Grandes-Murailles
  • Chateau Haut-Corbin
  • Chateau Haut Sarpe
  • Clos des Jacobins
  • Chateau Laniote
  • Chateau Larcis-Ducasse
  • Chateau Larmande
  • Chateau Laroque
  • Chateau Laroze
  • Chateau Matras
  • Chateau Monbousquet*
  • Chateau Moulin-du-Cadet
  • Clos de l'Oratoire
  • Chateau Pavie-Decesse
  • Chateau Le Prieuré
  • Chateau Ripeau
  • Chateau St-Georges-Côte-Pavie
  • Clos St-Martin
  • Chateau La Serre
  • Chateau Soutard
  • Chateau La Tour-Figeac

Controversy in 2006

There were eleven properties demoted from the above ranking in the 2006 revision, and for the sake of completeness these are documented below. Two other properties also disappeared, although not through demotion; these were Chateau Curé-Bon, which was purchased by the Chanel team and subsequently absorbed into Chateau Canon in 2000, and Chateau La Clusière, which in a similar fashion was absorbed into a greater name, in this case Chateau Pavie. Those that were demoted, however, were as follows:

It was these demotions that were responsible for what was perhaps the greatest and certainly the most surprising controversy ever to beleaguer any Bordeaux classification, even though the 2006 revision came only three years after a hotly disputed reclassification of the Cru Bourgeois chateaux of Bordeaux. A number of proprietors listed above, who all faced demotion from the Grand Cru Classé ranking, in particular the owners of Chateau Cadet-Bon, Chateau Guadet St-Julien, Chateau La Tour du Pin Figeac and Chateau La Marzelle, decided to take the Syndicat Viticole to court over the new listing. It seemed as though they had a strong case, as an inspection of the credentials of the members of the INAO panel allegedly suggested lack of impartiality, and an administrative tribunal in Bordeaux was quick to suspend the classification pending review, leaving all the chateaux of the appellation, including greats such as Ausone and Cheval-Blanc, effectively without any formal ranking at all. At the time I gave a rundown of events in my account of the collapse of the classification.

The situation was resolved in November 2007, when the Conseil d'Etat, the highest administrative court in France, annulled the suspension having stated that this prior action had no legal justification. Although the conclusions of the court did not dismiss the issues raised by the four complainants, it did state that they were not of a nature that warranted the permanent annulment of the classification. At the time of writing, the court still has to publish an opinion on the fate of the four properties involved.

Beyond the Premier Grand Cru Classé and the Grand Cru Classé properties of the St Emilion classification, there are many unclassified properties which may bear the grand sounding accolade of Grand Cru on the label. As a final point of interest in this rundown of the St Emilion ranking, I should make clear that this is not part of the classification, which accounts for only the two tiers discussed above. The distinction between a chateau that describes itself as Grand Cru, and one that does not, is a differentiation enshrined in appellation law, and will be discussed in my guide to St Emilion. It does not necessarily denote a wine of great quality or from exalted terroir, and as such the term is rather a misnomer. Nevertheless, there are good wines to be found at this level if one knows where to look; names such as Chateau Teyssier do at least deserve a mention.

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