Edit History

To be fair, there have been changes. Mouton, of course, was elevated to the first tier in 1973, and many of the châteaux not classified in 1855 have periodically been evaluated since 1932 -- in 2003, a number of them were re-classified as cru bourgeois "exceptionnel", "supérieur", etc.

Quibbling about the ratings at the top seems hardly worthwhile, as many unclassified châteaux command respect and prices equal to the five premiers crus -- e.g., Pétrus, Cheval Blanc, La Mission, etc -- and dozens more are regarded as peers of the second and third tiers.

If anything, the classifications do help to prop up the prices of the premiers crus in off years, but this is more a problem for the dilettantes drinking them as symbols of status than for those who care more about what's in the bottle than what's on the label.

Eric