1855 · Bordeaux
The 1855 Bordeaux Classification
A ranking compiled for a Paris exhibition, based largely on price — and barely changed since.
What happened
Napoleon III requested a classification of Bordeaux wines for the Exposition Universelle. Brokers compiled it from the prices the wines had been fetching, which was a reasonable proxy for reputation.
Sixty-one Médoc châteaux (plus Haut-Brion from Graves) were ranked into five growths, and Sauternes was classified separately.
It has changed almost not at all since: Cantemerle was added shortly after, and Mouton Rothschild was promoted to first growth in 1973 after decades of lobbying.
It remains commercially powerful and is a genuinely useful historical document, while being an increasingly unreliable guide to current quality — estates have changed hands, boundaries and standards many times over 170 years.
How firmly this is dated
Documented. Recorded contemporaneously. The date is not in question.
The classification document produced for the Exposition Universelle, compiled by brokers from prevailing market prices.
Sources
Sources consulted
- Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité (INAO) — INAO, France