The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines that were to be 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.
Pauillac is a municipality in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The city is mid-way between Bordeaux and the Pointe de Grave, along the Gironde, the largest estuary in western Europe.
Graves is an important subregion of the Bordeaux wine region. Graves is situated on the left bank of the Garonne River, in the upstream part of the region, southeast of the city Bordeaux and stretches over 50 kilometres (31 mi). Graves is the only Bordeaux subregion which is famed for all three of Bordeaux' three main wine types—reds, dry whites and sweet wines—although red wines dominate the total production. Graves AOC is also the name of one Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) which covers most, but not all of the Graves subregion.
Bordeaux wine is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gironde department, with a total vineyard area of 110,800 hectares, is the largest wine growing area in France.
Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey is a sweet white wine ranked as Premier Cru Classé in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Belonging to the Sauternes appellation in Gironde, in the region of Graves, the winery is located in the commune of Bommes. In October 2012 the winery was purchased by French wine tycoon Bernard Magrez.
Haut-Brion is a name found in several Bordeaux wine producers in the Graves district, including:
Michel Rolland is a Bordeaux-based oenologist, with hundreds of clients across 13 countries and influencing wine style around the world. "It is his consultancies outside France that have set him apart from all but a handful of his countrymen." It is frequently addressed that his signature style, which he helps wineries achieve, is fruit-heavy and oak-influenced, a preference shared by influential critic Robert Parker.
Sauternes is a French sweet wine from the region of the same name in the Graves section in Bordeaux. Sauternes wine is made from Sémillon, sauvignon blanc, and muscadelle grapes that have been affected by Botrytis cinerea, also known as noble rot. This causes the grapes to become partially raisined, resulting in concentrated and distinctively flavored wines. Due to its climate, Sauternes is one of the few wine regions where infection with noble rot is a frequent occurrence. Even so, production is a hit-or-miss proposition, with widely varying harvests from vintage to vintage. Wines from Sauternes, especially the Premier Cru Supérieur estate Château d'Yquem, can be very expensive, largely due to the very high cost of production. Barsac lies within Sauternes and is entitled to use either name. Somewhat similar but less expensive and typically less-distinguished wines are produced in the neighboring regions of Monbazillac, Cérons, Loupiac and Cadillac. In the United States, there is a semi-generic label for sweet white dessert wines known as sauterne without the "s" at the end and uncapitalized.
The wine regions of Bordeaux are a large number of wine growing areas, differing widely in size and sometimes overlapping, which lie within the overarching wine region of Bordeaux, centred on the city of Bordeaux and covering the whole area of the Gironde department of Aquitaine.
Second wine or second label is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from cuvee not selected for use in the Grand vin or first label. In some cases a third wine or even fourth wine is also produced. Depending on the house winemaking style, individual plots of a vineyard may be selected, often those of the youngest vines, and fermented separately, with the best performing barrels being chosen for the house's top wine and the other barrels being bottled under a separate label and sold for a lower price than the Grand vin.
Château Rabaud-Promis is a Bordeaux wine producer in the Sauternes appellation. Its sweet white wine ranked as Premier Cru Classé in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. It is located in the commune of Bommes in the region of Graves. It was once joined with Château Sigalas-Rabaud in the estate named Château Rabaud.
Château Sigalas-Rabaud, previously also named Château Rabaud-Sigalas, is a Bordeaux wine producer in the Sauternes appellation. Its sweet white wine ranked as Premier Cru Classé in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. It is located in the commune of Bommes in the region of Graves. It was once joined with Château Rabaud-Promis in the estate named Château Rabaud. With only 14 hectares, Château Sigalas-Rabaud is the smallest of all crus classés of the 1855 classification.
Château de Malle is a sweet white wine ranked as Second Cru Classé in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Belonging to the Sauternes appellation in Gironde, in the region of Graves, the winery is located in the commune of Sauternes. The gardens of the chateau are classified among the Notable Gardens of France by the Committee of Parks and Gardens of the French Ministry of Culture.
Bernard Magrez is a French wine magnate who predominantly owns Bordeaux wine estates, including Château La Tour Carnet, Château Pape Clément, Château Fombrauge and Clos Haut-Peyraguey but also a large number of wine producing properties in other French wine regions and other countries, including Spain, Portugal, Chile, Argentina, Japan, Morocco and California. In 2017 it was confirmed that Magrez had bought Château Le Sartre in Bordeaux's Pessac-Léognan.
Pauillac is a wine growing commune (municipality) and appellation d'origine contrôlée within Haut-Médoc in Bordeaux, centred on the small town of Pauillac. Hugh Johnson has said, "If one had to single out one commune of Bordeaux to head the list, there would be no argument. It would be Pauillac.". Pauillac includes three of the five premier cru châteaux of Bordeaux: Latour, Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild. The wines of Pauillac are often considered the quintessence of Bordeaux wines.
