The Corkscrew | The Left and Right ways to categorise Bordeaux wines
Nellie Ming Lee explains the history behind classification of the French region's wines and the different characteristics of vintages produced from grapes grown on land facing the Atlantic Ocean and from vineyards further inland
Bordeaux wines are some of the most readily available and widely enjoyed vintages in Hong Kong.
The French wine region is all about real estate - location, location, location - and history. First-growth wines, such as Chateaux Latour, Lafite Rothschild, Margaux, Haut-Brion and Mouton Rothschild, command lofty prices and are considered the blue chips of the wine world.
Of particular interest in the history of Bordeaux is the 1855 classification of wines that was initiated by Napoleon, who asked that the vintages to be displayed at that year's Paris Expo be ranked in order of quality. The job was passed to the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, which, instead of bickering over terroir, used one criterion to judge each chateau - price. The wines were divided into five tiers, from first growths to fifth growths, with the former consisting of those that commanded the best prices. Chateaux that didn't make it to the list were deemed not worthy.
There was a provision that the 1855 classification never be revised but over time and after considerable controversy, the rankings changed - once.
In 1973, Chateau Mouton Rothschild was elevated to first-growth status, thanks to the efforts of Baron Philippe de Rothschild, who petitioned the French authorities continuously for more than 20 years.
