The Wines To Invest In
The phrase ‘fine wine’ applies to wines that have been produced under the strict supervision of the Institut d’Appellations d’Origine, and that have been made from grapes grown in a specific area of France.
Appellation Controllée was first set up in 1929 by Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Since then the system has been extended throughout France and now covers some 30% of total wine production, including wines made in Bordeaux.
1855 Classification
For the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France’s best Bordeaux wines, which were on display for visitors from around the world. Brokers from the wine industry ranked the wines according to a château’s reputation and trading price, which at that time was directly related to quality. The result was the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.
The wines were ranked in importance from first to fifth growths (crus). All of the red wines that made it on the list came from the Médoc region except for one: Château Haut-Brion from Graves. The white wines (then of much less importance than red wine) were limited to the sweet varieties of Sauternes and Barsac and were ranked only from first great growth to second growth.
Changes to the classification
There have only been two changes since 1855 to the classification: in 1856, when Château Cantemerle was added as a fifth growth and in 1973, when Château Mouton Rothschild was elevated from a second growth to a first growth vineyard after decades of intense lobbying by the powerful Philippe de Rothschild. A third, but less known “change”, was the removal of Château Dubignon, a third growth from St.-Julien that was absorbed into the estate Château Malescot St. Exupéry.
Wines produced under the authority of the Institut d’Appellations d’Origine are entitled to display the term Appellation Controlée on their bottle labels as an indication that the content is wine that is of the best quality and from a limited supply.
The amount of labels allocated to each vineyard is restricted to enough for 177 cases of wine per acre of land for each vintage. Wine good enough to be used as a holding will usually have a life span of 40 – 49 years after which it is seen to be ‘over the hill’.
A fine wine needs to be matured for 5 – 7 years before it is drinkable, although connoisseurs will wait until the wine has reached its optimum drinkable level when it is 12 – 18 years old.
As part of our service to you, Vinance will always track a wine’s progress and predict its maturity and when it will reach the end of its prime drinking life. We will feed this information back to you on a regular basis but will always organise your holding according to your particular requirements.
Learn more about Premiers Crus and fine wines to invest in.