Bordeaux 1855 Classification: The Complete Guide

The 1855 Classification of Bordeaux wines is one of the most famous and enduring systems in the wine world. Created for the Paris Universal Exhibition at the request of Napoleon III, it ranked 61 Médoc châteaux and one Graves property (Château Haut-Brion) by quality and price into five tiers. Over 170 years later, it remains the primary reference for Left Bank Bordeaux.

Why Was the 1855 Classification Created?

In 1855, wine brokers from Bordeaux were asked by the Chamber of Commerce to create a definitive ranking of the region's finest wines, for exhibition at the Paris World's Fair. They ranked the châteaux based on their market prices at the time — a reliable proxy for quality in the mid-19th century.

The Five Growths — Premiers to Cinquièmes Crus

First Growths (Premiers Crus) — The pinnacle. Five châteaux: Château Lafite Rothschild (Pauillac), Château Margaux (Margaux), Château Latour (Pauillac), Château Mouton Rothschild (Pauillac — elevated from Second to First Growth in 1973, the only change in the classification's history), and Château Haut-Brion (Pessac-Léognan).

Second Growths (Deuxièmes Crus) — 14 châteaux including Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Château Cos d'Estournel, Château Léoville Las Cases, and Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. Several "Super Seconds" now rival or exceed First Growth quality and price.

Third Growths (Troisièmes Crus) — 14 châteaux including Château Palmer, Château Calon-Ségur, and Château Giscours.

Fourth Growths (Quatrièmes Crus) — 10 châteaux including Château Beychevelle, Château Talbot, and Château Pouget.

Fifth Growths (Cinquièmes Crus) — 18 châteaux including Château Lynch-Bages, Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, and Château Clerc Milon.

What About the Right Bank?

The 1855 Classification covers only the Left Bank Médoc (plus Haut-Brion). The Right Bank — Saint-Émilion and Pomerol — has its own separate classifications. Saint-Émilion was classified separately in 1955 (revised most recently in 2022), with Château Cheval Blanc and Château Ausone at the Premier Grand Cru Classé A tier. Pomerol has no official classification — yet Pétrus commands the highest prices in all of Bordeaux.

Is the Classification Still Relevant?

The 1855 Classification remains highly relevant as a guide to provenance and historical prestige — but it is an imperfect proxy for current quality. Several Fifth Growth châteaux now produce wines of Second Growth quality (Lynch-Bages is the classic example), while some classified estates have underperformed their historical reputation.

At The Vintage Club, we look beyond the classification to individual terroir, winemaker talent, and current form. Browse our full Bordeaux collection or contact our sommeliers for guidance on which châteaux represent the best value at each tier.

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