Grand Cru Classé

Designation for the Médoc vineyards classified in the 1855 Bordeaux classification as well as the much later classification for the Saint-Émilion area (Premier Grand Cru Classé A and B). In the Médoc, there are five classes (Premier, Deuxième, Troisième, Quatrième and Cinquième Cru Classé). The estates not classified as Premier or at least as Deuxième usually do not explicitly state their rank on the label, but rather in the neutral form "Grand Cru Classe en 1855". However, the lesser-known Deuxièmes often refer to their status in order to make a name for themselves.

Baron Philippe de Rothschild also took the opportunity in 1973 to document the elevation from second to first rank with "Premier je suis, Second je fus, Mouton ne change" (I am first, I was second, Mouton does not change) on the label designed by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). The châteaux that are "only" classified as fourth and fifth crus generally leave this off so as not to make their "low" rank too obvious. However, it should be noted that many wine estates would very much like to have "only" been classified as Cinquième Cru Classé in 1855. This is because the classification, which is over a century and a half old, still has great significance. See also under Grand Cru.

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Grand Cru Classé

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