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The 1855 Bordeaux classification and its controversies - a ranking from centuries ago

Few rankings have survived nearly two centuries, yet the 1855 Bordeaux classification still rules the market of the world’s most expensive wines. It is a list of 61 red wines from the Medoc, divided into five levels (cru), from First Growths down to Fifths, plus sweet whites from Sauternes. It was created at the request of Emperor Napoleon III for the Paris World’s Fair, and it was based on a surprising criterion: not on tasting, but on the price of the wine. Frozen almost motionless for 170 years, it today stirs hot debate about fairness and sense. Here is a guide to the 1855 classification: where it came from, how it works, why Mouton was promoted only in 1973 and why this vintage ranking still divides.

Where the classification came from

The 1855 classification was created on a specific commission. In 1855 Paris hosted the Exposition Universelle, and Emperor Napoleon III wanted to show the world the best wines of France. So he asked for a ranking of the best Bordeaux wines, which were to be displayed for visitors from around the world. The task was given to the wine-trade brokers (courtiers) of Bordeaux, who were to draw up the list. This is important context: the ranking was not created as a scientific judgement of quality, but as a presentational list for an exhibition, based on the market knowledge of the time. Even so it survived and became one of the most enduring systems in the world of wine. Understanding this origin - exhibition, prestige, trade - is the key to understanding its nature and flaws. We cover the region more in Bordeaux for beginners.

Based on price, not tasting

The most surprising thing is the foundation of the ranking: it was based on the reputation of the estate and the average sale price of the wine at the time. It was not a blind tasting nor a judgement of the soil - the courtiers arranged the wines by how much they had cost on the market over the previous decades. The logic was simple: if merchants have for years paid the most for a given wine, it must be the best. Price thus became the measure of quality. On the one hand this is clever, because the market did reflect renown. On the other - it cemented the existing balance of power, with no room for later rises or falls. This is key to understanding the controversy: the ranking froze the prices of 1855 as an eternal hierarchy of quality. The price of one era became dogma for centuries.

How it works: five growths

The classification divides the red wines into five levels, called cru (growths). At the top stand the Premiers Crus, that is the First Growths - the most prestigious and most expensive. Below them in order: Deuxiemes (Seconds), Troisiemes (Thirds), Quatriemes (Fourths) and Cinquiemes Crus (Fifth Growths). In all the ranking covers 61 red wines, almost exclusively from the Medoc, plus one exception from Graves. Importantly, it classifies particular estates (chateau), not single plots - the status is assigned to the brand, not a scrap of land. The higher the growth, the higher the prestige and usually the price. Separately classified were also 27 sweet white wines from Sauternes and Barsac, in a different arrangement. This five-tier division of the reds is the core of the whole system, known today to every lover of Bordeaux.

A table: five levels

Let us gather the structure of the ranking in one place:

The table shows that even a Fifth Growth is an elite circle of classified wines (grand cru classe). All five tiers are the strict top of the Medoc, and the differences are nuances of prestige, not a gulf of quality.

The five First Growths

At the very top stand five estates, the most recognisable wines in the world. They are Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau Mouton Rothschild. Originally, in 1855, there were only four First Growths - the fifth, Mouton, joined only in 1973 (more on that in a moment). A curiosity is Haut-Brion: it is the only wine from outside the Medoc in the top tier, coming from Graves, included because of its enormous renown. These five names are today a synonym for luxury and reach astronomical prices, especially in good vintages. They form the peak not only of the 1855 classification but of the whole market of collectible wines. Their status, once granted, proved almost untouchable for nearly two centuries. It is the most enduring elite in the world of wine.

The promotion of Mouton in 1973

The loudest change in the history of the ranking was the promotion of Chateau Mouton Rothschild. From 1855 Mouton was a Second Growth, though in quality and price it matched the Firsts. Baron Philippe de Rothschild ran a nearly fifty-year campaign for promotion, with the famous motto that after the change read: first I am, second I was, Mouton does not change. In 1973, after decades of effort, he got his way - Mouton became the fifth First Growth. It is the only significant change in the whole history of the classification. This shows two things at once: first, that the ranking could change, and second, how exceptionally hard and rare that was. One correction in 170 years is a measure of the system’s rigidity. The promotion of Mouton is at once proof of its flexibility and of its limits.

Why it stirs controversy

The rigidity of the ranking is the source of the main objections. The classification practically froze the hierarchy of 1855, even though over 170 years estates changed owners, quality and style. Some Second Growths rested on their laurels for decades, selling dear thanks to status, while consistently excellent Fifth Growths never won promotion. Critics ask: how can a ranking based on prices from centuries ago faithfully reflect today’s quality? There is also the charge that the system cements privilege and makes it hard for newcomers, however good, to enter. Defenders reply that it is a living monument and a point of reference, and the market corrects prices above the official status anyway. The debate goes on: respect the tradition, or make the ranking real? We cover the relation of price and quality more in the myth of expensive wine.

Why it still matters

Despite its flaws the 1855 classification remains the foundation of the market of the most expensive wines. It works like a recognisable brand and a point of reference: buyers across the world know that a First Growth is the peak, and grand cru classe is a guarantee of belonging to the elite of the Medoc. This drives prices, trade and prestige. Even sceptics admit that the ranking brings order to the complicated world of Bordeaux and gives beginners a clear map. Interestingly, the market runs its own, unofficial correction: the so-called super-seconds, that is the best Second Growths, reach prices close to the Firsts, and weaker estates fall in price despite their status. The official list endures, but real prices supplement it. This is why the 1855 classification is at once living and archaic - a symbol of Bordeaux that no one wants to touch. We cover the neighbouring region more in Burgundy and terroir.

The essentials in brief

Let us gather it up. The 1855 Bordeaux classification was created at the request of Napoleon III for the Paris exhibition, and was drawn up by wine-trade brokers by the reputation and price of the wine, not by tasting. It divides 61 red wines from the Medoc into five levels (cru), from Firsts to Fifth Growths, plus sweet whites from Sauternes. At the top five First Growths: Lafite, Latour, Margaux, Haut-Brion and Mouton. The only significant change was the promotion of Mouton in 1973 after decades of effort by Baron Rothschild. The ranking stirs debate because it froze a hierarchy from centuries ago, ignoring the later rises and falls of the estates. Even so it still rules the market as a recognisable brand, which the market unofficially corrects. Now you know where this vintage classification came from and why it still divides.

Note every wine in GustoNote - including its classification and your impressions. Over time you will start to judge for yourself whether the prestige of the label goes hand in hand with what you sense in the glass.