Study Bordeaux: Today’s 20

Question 1

How many of the 5 First Growths are in Pauillac?

Accepted Answer

3: Lafite Rothschild, Latour and Mouton Rothschild. Pauillac also holds 18 of the 61 classified growths. No other appellation has more than 1 First Growth.

Question 2

How big is Pomerol, and what is it planted to?

Accepted Answer

813 hectares, less than 1% of the Bordeaux vineyard, about 80% Merlot.

Question 3

Who drew up the 1855 Classification, and what was it for?

Accepted Answer

The brokers of the Bordeaux exchange, at the request of the Chamber of Commerce, for the Exposition Universelle in Paris. It was published on April 18, 1855.

Question 4

Which major Bordeaux appellation has never had a classification?

Accepted Answer

Pomerol. There is no Pomerol cru classé and no grand cru tier.

Question 5

Name the 5 First Growths of the 1855 Classification and their appellations.

Accepted Answer

Lafite Rothschild, Latour and Mouton Rothschild in Pauillac; Margaux in Margaux; Haut-Brion in Pessac-Léognan.

Question 6

Of the 4 riverside communal appellations of the Médoc, which leans hardest on Merlot, and why?

Accepted Answer

Saint-Estèphe, at 40% of the plantings against 50% for Cabernet Sauvignon, an answer to its heavier clay. Inland, Listrac-Médoc goes further still: there merlot leads.

Question 7

What is the Tertre de Fronsac, and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

A rise of 76 meters above the meeting of the Isle and the Dordogne, high land where little else passes 50. For much of the 18th century Fronsac sold above Pomerol.

Question 8

How many communes make Sauternes, and which are they?

Accepted Answer

5: Barsac, Bommes, Fargues, Preignac and Sauternes.

Question 9

When was the classification of the Graves established, and how many tiers does it have?

Accepted Answer

Approved in 1953 and completed in 1959. 1 tier only, Cru Classé de Graves, with separate red and white lists.

Question 10

How often is the Cru Bourgeois classification redrawn, and what are its tiers?

Accepted Answer

Every 5 years. Cru Bourgeois, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur and Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, from the lowest up. The current list is the 2025 classification, valid for the 2023 to 2027 vintages.

Question 11

How many estates did the 2025 Cru Bourgeois selection classify, by tier, and how does that compare with 2020?

Accepted Answer

170, announced on February 12, 2025: 14 Exceptionnel, 36 Supérieur and 120 Cru Bourgeois. The 2020 list had 249. Fewer names, and a harder door.

Question 12

Which appellation holds the most 1855 classified growths, and how many?

Accepted Answer

Margaux, with 21 of the 61 red growths. About 1 of its châteaux in 3 is classified.

Question 13

Which is the smallest of the 4 classified communal appellations of the Médoc, and what is unusual about it?

Accepted Answer

Saint-Julien, about 910 hectares, and it is the most classified: 11 of the 61 growths of 1855, taking up the greater part of the appellation. Moulis and Listrac, the 2 inland communes, are smaller still but hold no growth of 1855.

Question 14

Which appellation contains every Cru Classé de Graves, and when was it created?

Accepted Answer

Pessac-Léognan, created in 1987. It is the youngest appellation of the Graves and the Médoc.

Question 15

What separates AOC Saint-Émilion from AOC Saint-Émilion Grand Cru?

Accepted Answer

Grand Cru is the stricter appellation: yields of 46 hectoliters a hectare against 53, aging to at least February 1 of the second year after the harvest, and inspection batch by batch. The classification belongs to it, not to AOC Saint-Émilion.

Question 16

How many estates have changed rank in the 1855 Classification since it was published?

Accepted Answer

1. Mouton Rothschild, raised from Second to First Growth in 1973.

Question 17

Which estate was added to the 1855 list after it was published, and when?

Accepted Answer

Cantemerle, on September 16, 1855, months after the April list.

Question 18

How often is the Saint-Émilion classification revised, and when did the current list become law?

Accepted Answer

About every 10 years. The current list was announced on September 8, 2022 and homologated on December 15, 2022.

Question 19

What is the Michelin Grape, and when did Bordeaux first receive it?

Accepted Answer

A distinction the Michelin Guide gives to estates, from 1 to 3 grapes. The first Bordeaux selection was announced on September 8, 2026: 83 estates.

Question 20

How many 1855 classified growths are in the Médoc appellation?

Accepted Answer

None. All of them lie south of it; Haut-Médoc alone holds 5.