St. Emilion classification attacked

[AlexR]

Wine critic Franck Dubourdieu (http://www.franckdubourdieu.com/) cousin of you-know-who, has dropped a bombshell in today’s Sud-Ouest newspaper in Bordeaux:

Warning: link is in the language of Molière
http://www.sudouest.fr/2013/02/21/class ... 0-2547.php

Dubourdieu lambastes the Saint-Emilion classification for reasons I largely agree with.

Here is a synopsis of what he wrote:

- Fact: three ousted château have legally contested the 2012 classification
- This was established by people who are at the same time members of the INAO, the St-Emilion winegrowers association and owners of the very châteaux up for classification! The role of LVMH is particularly ambiguous in this worrying interpenetration.
- There were 96 candidates. 82 were accepted and there were 22 promotions. Compared to the 1996 classification, the area of cru classé vineyards went from 800 to 1,300 hectares i.e. 24% of the entire appellation.
- Angélus and Pavie do not have terroirs historically on a par with Ausone and Cheval Blanc and should not have received a higher ranking than Angélus, Canon, or Figeac.
- Parkerized (black in color, oaky, extracted, sweet, low-acid) wines did especially well.
- The promotion of La Tour du Pin and, especially, Quinault L’Enclos would seem to be due to the influence of Bernard Arnault (LVMH), the richest man in France, rather than their intrinsic quality.

I wonder how the powers-that-be will riposte?

I’ve always had problems with the St-Emilion system… For a start, very few consumers know the difference between “Grand Cru” and “Grand Cru Classé” on the label. And when both, up to and including Cheval Blanc, have exactly the same appellation…

Best regards,
Alex R.

[AlexR]

Forgot one point: Due to pressure from the premiers crus classés, the INAO accepted a special dispensation for this category. Tasting accounts for only 30% of the overall evaluation instead of 50% for all the other crus classés. Dubourdieu feels that, if anything, taste should be more, rather than less important in this category.

[Bacchus]

The only thing that surprises me is that it took this long for something like this to happen.

[DavidG]

Isn't this contested every time the reclassification occurs? With accompanying debate along similar lines that you've outlined, Alex, and concern for whether the classification system will (or should) survive or be radically revised?

I don't know how much a promotion or demotion affects sales. I agree with Alex that most consumers don't understand the meaning of the categories. Maybe those spending >$150/bottle do. I know what they mean but I don't really care. When it comes to purchase decisions price and taste take center stage, with presumed drinking window playing an increasingly important supporting role. Classification doesn't even enter the picture.

I suspect classification affects prices. Anyone have data showing a class/price relationship that isn't explained by other factors like vintage reputation, size of harvest, world economy etc?

[robertgoulet]

The only time I ever really cared about classification is when I was looking to buy a few wines for investment purposes...otherwise I really didn't pay too close attention to it because I always considered it such a flawed system.

[OrlandoRobert]

The classification is entirely irrelevant to me. An interesting side-show at best. I am also buying less and less wines from St. Em.

[greatbxfreak]

Interesting.

I think FD tells us how lobbyied (Hubert Bouard being not quite neutral - part owner of Angelus sitting on both sides of INAO and the verdict commitée) this classification been created. He's right in many things, he says.

I believe many GCCs were badly treated and several were elevated on wrong reasons which I suspect were arranged behind closed doors. F.i. Chateau Corbin Michotte was treated very badly, imho it's been better through many years than at least 10 of present GCCs and its soil is as good as that of neighbor Chateau Corbin.

Parker wines were also badly treated- why was Pavie Decesse and Bellevue Mondotte not elevated?

We haven't seen the end of classification drama - I'm pretty sure legal cases will continue and imho with very good reason.

I've to admire Francois Mitjavile from Tertre Roteboeuf. He didn't apply for upgrading. Maybe he should have, but now he's not involved in legal battle. For me this wine is in top 3-5 in Saint-Emilion.

[pomilion]

I've to admire Francois Mitjavile from Tertre Roteboeuf. He didn't apply for upgrading. Maybe he should have, but now he's not involved in legal battle. For me this wine is in top 3-5 in Saint-Emilion.

Couldn't agree more.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

What is the purpose of these classifications? I can imagine there was once a need (say in 1855) from a commerce perspective to have an imprimatur of quality to the brand "Bordeaux" or those of the various communes, to establish the authenticy of the product as well as minimum guarantees of process if not quality. Of course it wasn't necessary even to have five rankings to achieve this so it seems even then there was more to it than simply protecting the overall regional brand. Whatever the motivation, this seems hardly necessary anymore since there is so much information so readily available now to the trade and the consumer. Hardly anybody here cares what rank a property holds. It's more about style, individual vintage performances, and price. Nowadays to me it seems this is just a pissing match. If they want to hand out awards or rank wines let them do it annually in blind tastings.

[Harry C.]

Alex, I am perplexed. On one hand there are comments that Angelus and Pavie don't have the terroir as do the classic Firsts (who determines this anyway??) But then there are complaints that tasting the wines should account for a higher percent of the final 'score'. If that were the case, I would suggest that some of the Fists in years' past would have been dropped down and Angelus, at least, would have been promoted sooner.

[DavidG]

Politics, Harry, politics.

[AlexR]

Harry,
You wrote:
"Alex, I am perplexed. On one hand there are comments that Angelus and Pavie don't have the terroir as do the classic Firsts (who determines this anyway??) But then there are complaints that tasting the wines should account for a higher percent of the final 'score'. If that were the case, I would suggest that some of the Fists in years' past would have been dropped down and Angelus, at least, would have been promoted sooner'.

As to the first part of your comment, Angélus in particular is an estate that was basically cobbled together. It is indeed not an historic terroir. If you say “what the (expletive deleted) should I care about that?”, then fair enough . It is, however, an important point from a traditionalist perspective. There is no historical precedent for wine of this calibre being made at that estate. I do not know to what extent Pavie’s terroir has changed, although I believe that it, too, has expanded. An enclave in Pavie, Ch. La Clusière, a previous classified growth, was simply annexed by Mr. Perse, for instance.

As for the second part of your post, it is not a given that the lowered emphasis on tasting for the firsts means that those in place would have been eliminated were the tasting results weighted more heavily… It’s complicated…

Alex R.

[Jeff Leve]

Angélus in particular is an estate that was basically cobbled together. It is indeed not an historic terroir. If you say “what the (expletive deleted) should I care about that?”, then fair enough

That is not correct. Angelus was considered an outstanding wine during the 1950's. As for the 60's and 70's, at least IMO, very few good wines werer produced by any chateaux, including Cheval Blanc and Ausone. Personal tastings of 1953, 1955 and 1959 have shown those wines to be outstanding. Plus, while Angelus has added to their vineyard over time, the first 13 hectares were purchased in the late 1700's. For more on Angelus including tasting notes from the 50's:

http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bor ... n/angelus/

There is no historical precedent for wine of this calibre being made at that estate. I do not know to what extent Pavie’s terroir has changed, although I believe that it, too, has expanded. An enclave in Pavie, Ch. La Clusière, a previous classified growth, was simply annexed by Mr. Perse, for instance.

La Clusiere was not simply annexed as you say. La Clusiere has the same terroir as Pavie. The INAO gave approval to Pavie to add, or possibly add back the vines of La Clusiere to Pavie.

For details on the Pavie/La Clusiere merging and more on Pavie: http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bor ... ion/pavie/