A (musical) note on the 1855 Bordeaux wine classification

Perhaps you don’t need to learn the 1855 classification of first-through-fifth growths of  French Bordeaux wines. But if you did, Richard Hemming, British MW student and singing enophile, has a new ditty to help you out.

The classification, which rated Bordeaux wines, specifically the red wines of the Medoc (plus Chateau Haut-Brion from Graves) and the wines of Sauternes, was created for a grand exhibition in Paris that Emperor Napoleon III intended as a showcase of the best of France. There have been a few changes, most notably the elevation of Chateau Mouton Rothschild from second- to first-growth in 1973, but essentially, the rankings stuck and are with us today although they often prompt intense debate over their accuracy.

So endeth the wine lesson for the day.

Cheers, scholastically.

This entry was posted on October 12, 2012 at 11:34 am and is filed under Wine 101. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.