Edit History

I'm no expert on Bordeaux, either, Mary, so just take all of this as one man's opinion. ...

I actually find it remarkable how well the classifications of 1855 still reflect the quality of the wines made at the classified châteaux. I think part of this is due to the prestige the classifications convey -- there's always been someone willing to put down the money to salvage a classified estate when it's fallen (e.g, Margaux in the '70s and most of the other first and second growths at some point in the last century and a half).

Still, I agree with Parker and other who have said that the classifications should be viewed primarily as historical indicators. Indeed, that's what they claim to be -- they are, after all, the classifications of 1855 (despite the handful of updates and excepting the newer cru-bourgeois designations). But even so, if one were to try to come up with something based only on today's situation, the classifications would be a good place to start. The five first growths are indisputably among the best châteaux of Bordeaux, for example -- maybe not in every single vintage, but certainly they produce more top wines more often than nearly any other châteaux.

The only injustice, if you want to call it that, is that certain other unclassified châteaux (e.g., Pétrus, Cheval Blanc, La Mission Haut-Brion, etc., that I mentioned before) also belong in this category. But I don't think their lack of premier-cru status hurts them. Certainly their reputations and prices speak for themselves. (Although, back to the point I made before, an off vintage of La Mission generally will cost a lot less than an off vintage of its sister estate across the road.)

I don't think any of these châteaux worry too much about this sort of thing. Nor do the châteaux further down the totem pole. A few of the better châteaux classified as cru bourgeois did not even apply for the newest break-outs. Sociando Mallet, for example, certainly would have made "exceptionnel", but chose not to apply because it saw the classifications as meaningless to its customers. And I think that the sort of people who seek out good Bordeaux, not prestigious Bordeaux, agree.

Eric