Books, Arts & Manners: Bordeaux II

Two events have been making big waves in Bordeaux this summer and fall. The first is that Baron Philippe de Rothschild finally got his dearest wish, namely the reclassification of his Château Mouton Rothschild from second growth (or level) to first, up there with the four giants, Château Lafite, Rothschild Latour, Margaux, and Haut Brion. Not that Mouton Rothschild ever cost less or was less appreciated than its four new brothers; we can only speculate on what political influence and cases of vintage Mouton it must have cost the Baron to have broken the sacrosanct 1855 classification of the wines of Bordeaux. I have been told that the enormous oil refinery sitting bang in the middle of the Medoc wine country on the Garonne, not far from the Château Mouton Rothschild vineyards, is somehow connected with the Rothschild financial interests. Whether this is true or not, it is interesting that none of the grand and great chateau owners of the region protested its going up, while the angels of the environment no doubt covered their eyes with their wings. When questioned about the effect on the vineyards, the Bordeaux people tiptoe away from the subject, implying that it does not harm the grapes. All one can say is, Tiens.

In 1855 there was an international fair in Paris, and the Bordeaux wine people were asked to come up with some sort of rating for their wines. Basing their opinions on the soil, production, prices, and reputations current at the time, and also on their own preferences, five growths (or levels) were created, which still exist as yardsticks of excellence, in spite of several wars, plant epidemics, dozens of management changes, improvements in winemaking, and changes in the international wine business. The unfair thing about the 1855 classification is that it keeps out newer, excellent wines, which more than deserve to be in, and keeps in unworthy ones simply because they were there in 1855 (I think of a splendid wine called Château Maucaillou, superior to many a fourth and even third growth, but developed after 1855).

NH

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Two events have been making big waves in Bordeaux this summer and fall. The first is that Baron Philippe de Rothschild finally got his dearest wish, namely the reclassification of his Château Mouton Rothschild from second growth (or level) to first, up there with the four giants, Château Lafite, Rothschild Latour, Margaux, and Haut Brion. Not that Mouton Rothschild ever cost less or was less appreciated than its four new brothers; we can only speculate on what political influence and cases of vintage Mouton it must have cost the Baron to have broken the sacrosanct 1855 classification of the wines of Bordeaux. I have been told that the enormous oil refinery sitting bang in the middle of the Medoc wine country on the Garonne, not far from the Château Mouton Rothschild vineyards, is somehow connected with the Rothschild financial interests. Whether this is true or not, it is interesting that none of the grand and great chateau owners of the region protested its going up, while the angels of the environment no doubt covered their eyes with their wings. When questioned about the effect on the vineyards, the Bordeaux people tiptoe away from the subject, implying that it does not harm the grapes. All one can say is, Tiens.

In 1855 there was an international fair in Paris, and the Bordeaux wine people were asked to come up with some sort of rating for their wines. Basing their opinions on the soil, production, prices, and reputations current at the time, and also on their own preferences, five growths (or levels) were created, which still exist as yardsticks of excellence, in spite of several wars, plant epidemics, dozens of management changes, improvements in winemaking, and changes in the international wine business. The unfair thing about the 1855 classification is that it keeps out newer, excellent wines, which more than deserve to be in, and keeps in unworthy ones simply because they were there in 1855 (I think of a splendid wine called Château Maucaillou, superior to many a fourth and even third growth, but developed after 1855).