French wine classification system, master entry.

1855 winery classification system is a mirror of Bordeaux's historical development. This wine catalogue not only shows the classification of Bordeaux vineyards, but also reflects the historical origin, wine trade and winery situation of the region.

Due to the geographical location, Bordeaux has an indissoluble bond with trade. Bordeaux is built on the Garonne River. As early as in ancient Rome, it became a shipping distribution center for selling inland wines to Italy. Later, Bordeaux planted grapes on a large scale and became an important wine producing area. The wine trade continued, mainly relying on sea sales. One reason is that its domestic sales can't afford heavy taxes: in France, the consumers of high-quality wines are all princes and nobles living in Paris and the court, while Bordeaux wines have to go through many checkpoints and pay taxes many times in the long journey to Paris; Those grape producing areas close to Paris, such as Burgundy or Champagne Province, produce wines with short distances, low taxes and acceptable prices.

Therefore, Bordeaux wines have been oriented to the international market from the beginning. /kloc-in the 0/7th century, its buyers were mainly Dutch and British. They all demanded that Bordeaux wines should have individuality and high quality, but in different ways.

The Dutch demand that the price of wine is better, followed by the quality. Because they buy wine mainly for resale to overseas colonies, delicate and delicate wine is not easy to reach its destination intact. In order to preserve wine well in long-distance transportation and make it mature properly, Dutch businessmen adopted some technical means, such as burning sulfur in wine storage barrels before loading wine, which played a sterilization role and prevented wine from deteriorating, hundreds of years before Pasteur discovered bacteria. Although the Dutch don't know its scientific basis, they found in practice that sulfur can resist bacteria and help preserve wine. Thanks to these technical means, the Dutch revealed to us that Bordeaux wine does not need to be drunk when it is young, on the contrary, it will be more effective when it is ripe.

The British are another group of bordeaux wine lovers, and their needs are completely different. British people buy wine for their own consumption, and shipping is also very fast. Therefore, what the British need is high-quality wine. Bordeaux wine has become the fashion of British upper class, so the price of wine is rising. 171940s, customers only need to order wine from Medoc producing area (Medoc), and they can get high quality guarantee. At that time, the wine price list showed that Bordeaux wines had been divided according to their main producing areas. However, with the passage of time, customer requirements have become more detailed, mainly for several towns with excellent brewing technology. From the second half of17th century, some wines from Graves, such as Pessac, also appeared in the wine catalogue.

In the following decades, the British learned more and more about Bordeaux wine producing areas. After refining to villages and towns, they further refined to some famous wineries. It is generally believed that this started with the business idea of Arnaud de Pontac, the owner of Haut-Brion Hotel. 1666 during the reconstruction of London after the fire, Pentak sent his son to London to open a pub called "Peng Head Office" as a window to display his winery wine. Soon, this bar and its wine became popular in the upper class of London. When you buy Bordeaux wine, it is very decent to call Zhuang by his first name. By the end of 17, customers are no longer satisfied with ordering only the wines from Bisha Village, and they will ask the wine merchants to provide the wines from Obiang Winery.

Obiang Winery is not the only winery recognized by British consumers. There are also three other famous wineries: Margaux in Margaux Village, Latour and Lafite in pauillac Village. The wines of these four wineries are of unparalleled quality, high reputation and short supply, so the prices are much higher than other Bordeaux wines. Therefore, Obiang Winery, Margaux Winery, latour Winery and Galeries Lafayette all have their own grades and are called "first-class wineries".

/kloc-In the mid-8th century, other wineries also realized that improving wine quality could bring commercial benefits. They began to devote themselves to brewing good wine to attract the attention of the rich in Britain. Several wineries have gradually established a good reputation in the market. Although their wine prices are not as high as those of first-class wineries, they are also very close. These wineries are called "secondary wineries".

This level includes twelve wineries. At this time, other wineries have begun to stand out from their village names. Although not as famous as the first-class and second-class wineries, the quality is getting better and better, which is bound to occupy a place in the grading system.

1787 In the spring, when Jefferson (who later became the third president of the United States) visited Bordeaux, this grading system just included the level of "third-class winery". With the commercial success of the third-class winery, people are considering adding another grade below it. 19 The wine price table of the 1920s shows the change of this classification system: the fourth-class wineries came out, and some new faces were added to the ranks of the third-class wineries. By the early 1950s of 19, the commercial grade of Bordeaux wine had included 60 wineries, which were divided into five grades.

The ranking of wineries in the classified catalogue is directly related to the price of their wines in the market. However, with the passage of time, the initial ranking of wineries in the catalogue will be different from the real level they later showed. This phenomenon befell Harrison more and more in Harrison in the first half of the19th century, and it still exists today. For example, the prices of some low-level wineries are the same as those of high-level wineries.

At that time, the commercial grading system from high to low was constantly adjusted according to the performance of the winery and the changes in the market. /kloc-At the beginning of the 0/7th century, Graf produced the most exquisite wine; Since then, Medoc has become an excellent wine producing area and achieved great success, and its wine price has also risen sharply.

By the middle of the19th century, only Obiang Winery could compete with Medoc wines in price, and Obiang Winery became the only Graf wine shortlisted for the highest grade. Besides, wines from other parts of Bordeaux cannot be expected to be as expensive as those from Medoc.

This grading system is also the cornerstone of local wine trade. All participants, including winery producers, wine merchants and brokers, are familiar with the grade of each winery. The grading table was originally designed for people in the industry, but it is widely circulated in society. In the whole19th century, this classification table appeared in many places, especially in the works of more and more wine lovers at that time, such as The Whole Map of Wine Famous Villages (by Julian 18 16), The History of Ancient and Modern Wine (by Henderson 1824), etc. This classification table has also been mentioned many times in national political documents, such as the report on trade relations between Britain and France published by the British Parliament 1855, and the investigation reports on grape planting and yield changes sponsored by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce 1847 and 1848. In a large number of travel guides published at that time, this ever-changing classification table was also widely cited, such as "Traveler's Guide for Foreigners" and "Bordeaux: The Land of Red Wine", which was reprinted many times after 1825 (published by Cook, 1846, and later renamed "Bordeaux and its Wine", which became the Bible of Bordeaux wines). At that time, every time this classification table was reprinted, Bordeaux wineries, wine merchants and brokers had to adjust according to the latest market situation, and consumers were used to knowing the best wines in Bordeaux according to this classification table.

Winery owners are proud of being shortlisted for ranking wineries, but this grading table can bring them tangible benefits. Every spring, when new wine comes out of the cellar and is ready to be sold, the owner of the winery and the wine merchant should set a reasonable price for the wine. As the largest province in France, Bordeaux's main economic activity is wine. It can be said that the reasonable pricing is related to the economic future of Bordeaux. Imagine how chaotic it would be if thousands of winery owners sold their wines to hundreds of famous wine merchants if they bargained from scratch every year. Scoring has become an effective means to simplify negotiation procedures.

For a long time, this classification table has played the role of market price list, enabling buyers and sellers to find the same starting point and quickly calculate and evaluate the reasonable price of wine in that year. For example, a winery has been selling wine according to the third-class winery. If the price of the third-class winery is recognized as 100 francs per bottle, then this price will be accepted by both buyers and sellers, and the negotiation will be based on this.

According to the custom at that time (which continues to this day), some wineries deliberately delayed the listing time of their new wines in that year to observe the market's reaction to the price of new wines in that year, because it was not beneficial to announce the price of wines first.

1855, the World Expo was held in Paris. Famous products from French provinces and around the world gather together. The Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce selected some wines for exhibition. The organizers of the exhibition have encountered an embarrassing problem: each winery can only send 6 bottles of wine, which is only enough for booth display and jury tasting. Thousands of visitors can't taste colorful Bordeaux wine for themselves. They can only see the wines displayed in the window and get a detailed wine list of Bordeaux wines. This wine list aims to introduce the richness and outstanding performance of Bordeaux wines to attract the attention of the world. This wine list will also be accompanied by the classification table of Bordeaux famous wines made by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and the Wine Brokers Association.

At that time, the task of making grading table was assigned to Bordeaux's brokers, because among the three parties (producers, wine merchants and brokers) in wine trade, only brokers had a comprehensive vision. Winery producers know their wine best, but they don't know much about the fate of wine after it leaves the winery. Wine merchants know the market well, but they don't know much about the production conditions of wine. Only a wine broker can have a little knowledge. They go in and out of wineries all the year round and have a direct understanding of vineyards. Their connection with the market gives them a specific understanding of wine trade.

On April 5th, 1855, the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the Wine Brokers Association, asking it to provide "a list of all the wine wineries in the province, which should be as detailed and comprehensive as possible, and clarify the ownership and geographical location of each winery in the fifth grade". As the World Expo will open in the same month, time is very tight. Fortunately, the brokers' association has all the necessary information, so they can provide a list of the best wineries in such a short time. April 18 released the list, known as "1855 classification system". Today, after 150 years, this classification is still respected by the world wine industry.

This classification list is not limited to wines shipped to Paris for exhibition by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce. In fact, most of the wineries on the list did not participate in the exhibition: looking up the original documents of that year, we found that all the wineries that did not participate in the exhibition were marked with the word "absent" after their names.

Similarly, this classification table is not limited to wines that perform well in 1854. The classification is based on the performance of each wine for many years, and only those wines with long-term stable quality can be shortlisted. In a word, the only reason why a winery can be selected into the 1855 grading system is that its internal performance shows that it can brew high-quality wine stably for a long time.

With the passage of time, the classification table of version 1855 made by liquor brokers gradually established its authority, reaching a height that could not be reached by any previous version. Throughout the second half of the19th century, it was the representative of the best quality wine in Bordeaux. Of course, for wine lovers, this classification table is only for reference, and it does not prevent the market from reassessing the price of wine according to quality changes. The experience of some wineries shows that the genius of 1855 grading system is that it does not prohibit the market from giving high-quality wines more reasonable commercial value. In the following 150 years, the original classification table only changed twice: Mouton Rothschild was promoted to the first-class winery in June 1973, and canter Mayer was elected to the fifth-class winery in September 1855. In fact, the price of wine always changes according to its quality. According to different years, the wine prices of listed wineries always fluctuate around their "regular" ranking in 1855 classification.

Today, the appraisal results made by wine brokers in 1855 not only reflect the present situation of Bordeaux wines, but also have achieved fruitful results, which have greatly promoted not only the top wineries, but also the wines in the whole Bordeaux region. No wine producing area in the world has such an authoritative grading system as Bordeaux. This classification table is unparalleled. For novices who choose wine, it plays a guiding role and is the guarantee of reliability and quality. The wine label of "Grand Cru Classe en 1855" is a legendary quality assurance, and people always proudly use it to entertain distinguished guests.

Now, this ancient grading table has become a booster for the whole Bordeaux wine. In many emerging markets, such as the North American market in the mid-20th century and the Asian market a few decades later, people have gradually realized the high quality of Bordeaux wine, which can be drunk quickly at once.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the birth of the classification system 1855 150, the world wine industry has more deeply realized the great value of this classification table as a witness to the excellent quality of Bordeaux wines. The classification table and its shortlisted wineries have brought us both spiritual and physical touches: it represents a mysterious state and reveals the possibility of pursuing perfection in the imperfect real world; This pursuit is embodied in wine, which has brought such wonderful enjoyment to wine lovers all over the world.

Top wine (left bank of bordeaux)

-Go to Briant Castle (Obiang)

-Chateau Lafite (Lafite)

-Latour Castle (Latour)

-Margaux Castle (Margaux)

-Mouton Rothschild Castle ((Mouton) (King of Wudang))

Second class wine.

-Bran Cantanak Winery (Britney Condi)

-Because of Destour Nell (Astor)

-Ducrewe-Bocayo Castle (Bogayo)

-Dufort-Vivan Castle (Dufort-Vivan)

-Larose Castle (larousse)

-Rascombe Castle (lux gold)

-Louisville Winery (Lion)

-Louisville (Loepler)

-Lionel Barton Castle (Love Barton)

-montrose Castle (Rose Hill)

-Baron Longueville, Pichon.

-Pitch Castle of Countess Longueville Lalander (Countess Lalander)

-Lausanne-Seguela Castle (Huzan Seguela)

-Lauzan-Gasi Winery (Huzangexian)

Third-class premium wine

-Boyd-Cantanak Castle (Boyd-Kandy)

-Kalon-Segur Castle (Kalon family)

-winery Cantenac Brow (candy brown)

-Demiray Castle (Deshimei)

-Ferrie Castle (Ferry)

-Giskul Castle (lucky guest)

-Desan Castle in Xian Di.

-Kiel Bay Castle (Kirin)

-La Grange Castle (Lahon)

Lagun Castle

-Longo 'a Barton Manor (Longo Barton)

-Castle of Saint Exupery, Malescott (male)

-Marquis May Baker Castle in allers (Marquis Alaize Baker)

-Palmer Castle (Palmer)

Quaatriè me cru classé-the highest quality fourth-class wine.

-Bei Cherveill Castle (Dragon Boat)

-Brenner-Ducrewe Castle (Bernduk)

-Duhart-Miron-Rothschild Castle (Diamiron)

-Lafont-Roche Winery (Fang La-Roche)

-Carnett Castle, latour (latour-Garner)

-Marquis of Castle (Marquis of Germany and America)

-Bao Jue Bao.

-Priellichin Castle (Li Xian)

-Chateau Saint Pierre (Saint Pierre)

-Talbot Castle (Dabao)

Five-grade wine.

-Amarha Castle (Darmaillacq)

-Battelle Castle (Battelle)

-Belgrave Castle (Rich List)

-Kamensak Castle (Kamansha)

-Cantemeller (Cantemeller)

-Clark Miron Castle (Miron Brothers)

-Castle of Koslau (Kos 5- Rapolli)

-Kreuser-baggs Castle (Gebi)

-Dauzac Castle (Duzak)

-Puidicas Castle (Ducas)

-Fort Crocodile

-Obaric.

-Haute Battelle Castle (Obataye)

-Chateau Lynch-Bages (Peggy Lin) (Jingzi Bo)

-Chateau Lynch-Moussas (Longines Moussa)

-Pedersclough Castle (Bai Deshi)

-Ponte-Cane Castle (Ponte-Cane)

-The Third Castle (Dell)

Saint Emilion 1955 on the right bank of Bordeaux:

grand cruclasséA:* * 2:

ChateauAusone (Aosong)

Baima castle

GrandCruClasséB*** 13:

Angelus

Bo-Sejurbekott

BeauséjourDuffauLagarrosse

Barelare-Morange

General regulations

Crosford

Figeac

Laga Fillie

Magdelin

Pavi

Pavemarkin

Tuolongmondo

Trotter Ville