Bordeaux’s 1855 ranking is ‘outdated’

A new class of Super Bordeaux is threatening to shake the region’s 1855 classification system to its core, according to French wine critics Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve.

Thierry Desseauve

The 1855 Classement des Crus du Bordelais, drawn 160 years ago, has long served an accurate barometer of wines in the region, categorising châteaux by their quality. Apart from a few minor changes, the system has remained firm with en primeur tastings each year confirming its validity. However the 2014 campaign was different, according to Desseauve and Bettane, who claim this could be the year that the 1855 ranking is “finally made to look outdated”.

Citing the emergence of the Super Bordeaux in their report on the campaign, in which they list their assessment of more than 300 2014 En Primeurs Bordeaux, Bettane and Desseauve claim this new category has the potential to redraw the map of the grand crus.

Explaining further, the pair said that for years they had been witnessing the emergence of a new class of Bordeaux wines,”outside of the strict confines of the 1855 Classement”.

“These Super Bordeaux, as [we] call them, have benefited from considerable investment as well as from the expert guidance of some of the best winemakers in the world.”

Michel Bettane

Such wines are potentially “game changing”, said Bettane and Desseauve, opening up new possibilities for the “ultraconservative framework of Bordeaux orthodoxy”.

It is their belief that these “Super Bordeaux” could “redraw the map of the grand crus”, and ultimately undermine the relevance of the 1855 classification.

The pair added: “The message is clear: there is greatness – a different, new kind of greatness – to be found outside of the 1855 Classement, and it’s time to move on!”

Speaking more widely about the 2014 campaign, the pair said: “The great growths but also many “classics” from Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe hit the nail on the head with aplomb: these will be very long keepers. Their profile is reminiscent of 2005: power, energy and especially, great structure.

“In short, wines that one can forget in the cellar for ages then open to celebrate life’s big occasions down the road. The story is different on the right bank where the tannins of many growths, notably in Saint-Émilion are harsh. The best estates knew not to overly extract and produced very decent, fine, velvety wines.”

To view the critics’ 2014 Bordeaux report, click here.

See below eight of Bettane and Desseauve’s Super Bordeaux wines “not to miss”

• Château les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan – 95/100
• Clos Saint-Julien, Saint-Emilon grand cru – 92-93/100
• Château Branas Grand Poujeaux, Moulis – 91-92/100
• Château de Reignac, Balthus, Bordeaux Supérieur – 91-92/100
• Château Haut Carles, Fronsac – 91-92/100
• Château Haut Condissas, Medoc – 92-93/100
• Le Plus de la Fleur de Boüard, Lalande de Pomerol – 92-93/100
• Domaine de l’A,Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux – 91-92/100