Why is it important, what is it and how does it work?
8 September 2022, new classification of Saint Emilion and..... only Château Pavie remains among the historic châteaux "Premiers grands crus classés groupe A" of Saint-Emilion, joined by Château Figeac; so there is now only one pair of "groupe A" châteaux for the decade 2022 - 2032.
The Saint-Emilion appellation is undoubtedly one of the most famous in the world, located on the Right Bank of Bordeaux.
Its 5,400 hectares of vines are located on the many hills surrounding the famous medieval village of Saint-Emilion, forming a beautiful wine-growing landscape that benefits from a temperate, oceanic climate.
The vineyards classified as Saint-Emilion Grand Cru are spread over 8 communes, with more than 900 producers.
The Saint-Emilion Grand Cru appellation groups together all the Grands Crus Classés from its classification published in 1955. This classification is subject to change, allowing certain estates to move up the rankings or, on the contrary, to be downgraded.
It is revised every ten years; the last revision took place at the end of 2022. Since the last edition, 85 châteaux have been awarded the title.
There were two "Premier Grand Crus Classée groupe A" before 2012 (Ausone and Cheval Blanc), between 2012 and 2022 they were considered the famous 4 Musketeers of the King (Ausone, Cheval Blanc, Angelus and Pavie), they become 2 again from the end of 2022 (Pavie and Figeac).
Almost every customer who attends our tasting in Saint Emilion asks me this when visiting Ecoexcursions.fr: what is this famous Saint Emilion classification all about.....
Honestly, during the explanation of the classification, its history, who's in or out and, most importantly, why it's happening, I see a loss of concentration in the eyes of our dear customers.......
Where there are a lot of economic interests, where fame and prestige are at stake, there's a lot of competition; it's not up to us to go into the why behind this classification, the subject is long and I'd rather talk to you about it in more detail during the wine tour you're going to take with us, but we can certainly quote the updated 2022 classification:
The 2 Premiers Grands Crus Classés "A" are: Château FIGEAC, and Château PAVIE; .
The 12 Premiers Grands Crus Classés "B" are :
Château BEAU-SEJOUR BECOT
Château BEAUSEJOUR HERITIERS DUFFAU LAGARROSSE
Château BELAIR MONANGE
Château CANON
Château CANON LA GAFFELIERE
Château LARCIS DUCASSE
Château PAVIE MACQUIN
Château TROPLONG MONDOT
Château TROTTEVIEILLE
Château VALANDRAUD
CLOS FOURTET
LA MONDOTTE
Then there are 71 "grands crus classés" and over 800 "grands crus de Saint-Émilion" or non-classified wines.
While we're on the subject, let's also look at the best vintages to look for according to many experts (this is obviously not an absolute rule): 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2001, 2000, 1998, 1990, 1989, 1985, 1964, 1961, 1959, 1955, 1953, 1950, 1949, 1947 and 1945.
Bear in mind that, in my humble opinion, among the recent vintages, 2021 and especially 2013 are not good vintages for most producers.
Would you like to learn more and, above all, enjoy a unique organoleptic experience? All you have to do is book a Saint Emilion tasting with us on Ecoexcursions.fr, and we'll see you there from 30 March!