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The 1855 Bordeaux Classification- and how investors use it

The 1855 Bordeaux Classification began as a commercial ranking for Napoleon III’s Paris Universal Exhibition. Today it remains a market hierarchy that supports liquidity and investor confidence.

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What is the 1855 Classification

The 1855 Classification ranks 88 estates in total:

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  • 61 red-wine châteaux (60 in the Médoc + Château Haut-Brion in Graves / Pessac-Léognan) across five tiers from First to Fifth Growth.

  • 27 sweet-wine châteaux in Sauternes & Barsac, across three tiers (Superior First, First, Second).

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It was drawn up at the request of Napoleon III for the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris; the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce tasked the Syndicat des Courtiers (brokers), who ranked estates largely by trading price, which at the time was assumed to reflect quality and demand.

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Two headline facts every investor should know:

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  • It is famously stable (rarely changed).

  • The modern list reflects only a couple of historical adjustments (the most famous: Mouton’s promotion in 1973; and a few administrative/structural evolutions over time).

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How investors use it

It creates hierarchy readability (and that’s the point)

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Fine wine is not like equity analysis where you can open a spreadsheet and see audited statements. For many buyers, especially international buyers, Bordeaux’s power comes from legibility: tiers, names, a widely recognized hierarchy.

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The classification acts like a global shorthand for “blue-chip Bordeaux.” Investors don’t buy First Growths because they’re rare (they often aren’t, in pure volume terms). They buy them because the world has agreed, over generations, that “First Growth” is a status, a benchmark, a safe reference.​

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It concentrates liquidity

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A hierarchy doesn’t just influence price; it influences trading behavior. The more universal the label, the more universal the bid.

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That’s why Bordeaux, more than any other region, behaves like an organized market. A shared ranking system makes it easier for merchants, collectors, funds, and private clients to transact without needing to re-litigate quality from scratch.

 

It functions as a portfolio skeleton

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A practical investor mindset:

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  • Core holdings: First Growths and the most liquid Second Growths (often competing in terms of quality with the First while offering attractive value for money ratio).

  • Satellite holdings: selected Third–Fifth Growths where quality, value, and momentum can diverge meaningfully from the rank.

  • Time horizon alignment: Bordeaux rewards patience; classification names tend to be most powerful when you give them time ; it make take 20-30 years for these wines to become scarce on the market.

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It’s not “truth.” It’s a market institution.

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Many critics have argued the classification can be outdated as a quality guide, because vineyards, ownership, and management change over time, while the ranking barely does.


From an investment lens, that critique is precisely why opportunities exist: rank and reality sometimes drift, and the spread between the two is where informed buyers can play.

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Red wines: Médoc & Haut-Brion

A quick orientation: the classified reds sit across the Médoc’s key appellations (Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Margaux, Haut-Médoc) plus the lone Graves outsider, Haut-Brion.

First Growths (Premier Cru)

Investor lens: global benchmarks, maximum legibility, generally strongest liquidity.

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  • Château Lafite Rothschild (Pauillac)

  • Château Latour (Pauillac)

  • Château Margaux (Margaux)

  • Château Haut-Brion (Pessac / Graves)

  • Château Mouton Rothschild (Pauillac)

Second Growths (Deuxième Cru)

Investor lens: the “power tier” for value vs prestige; many estates trade with a gravity that can rival First Growths in strong vintages.

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  • Château Rauzan-Ségla (Margaux)

  • Château Rauzan-Gassies (Margaux)

  • Château Léoville-Las Cases (Saint-Julien)

  • Château Léoville-Poyferré (Saint-Julien)

  • Château Léoville-Barton (Saint-Julien)

  • Château Durfort-Vivens (Margaux)

  • Château Gruaud-Larose (Saint-Julien)

  • Château Lascombes (Margaux)

  • Château Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)

  • Château Pichon Longueville Baron (Pauillac)

  • Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (Pauillac)

  • Château Ducru-Beaucaillou (Saint-Julien)

  • Château Cos d’Estournel (Saint-Estèphe)

  • Château Montrose (Saint-Estèphe)

Third Growths (Troisième Cru)

Investor lens: where selection becomes everything—some estates behave like “sleeping blue chips,” others like pure consumption plays.

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  • Château Kirwan (Margaux)

  • Château d’Issan (Margaux)

  • Château Lagrange (Saint-Julien)

  • Château Langoa-Barton (Saint-Julien)

  • Château Giscours (Margaux)

  • Château Malescot St-Exupéry (Margaux)

  • Château Cantenac-Brown (Margaux)

  • Château Boyd-Cantenac (Margaux)

  • Château Palmer (Margaux)

  • Château La Lagune (Haut-Médoc)

  • Château Desmirail (Margaux)

  • Château Calon-Ségur (Saint-Estèphe)

  • Château Ferrière (Margaux)

  • Château Marquis d’Alesme Becker

Fourth Growths (Quatrième Cru)

Investor lens: a classic hunting ground for “ranked but underpriced” stories—especially when provenance is pristine.

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  • Château Saint-Pierre (Saint-Julien)

  • Château Talbot (Saint-Julien)

  • Château Branaire-Ducru (Saint-Julien)

  • Château Duhart-Milon (Pauillac)

  • Château Pouget (Margaux)

  • Château La Tour Carnet (Haut-Médoc)

  • Château Lafon-Rochet (Saint-Estèphe)

  • Château Beychevelle (Saint-Julien)

  • Château Prieuré-Lichine (Margaux)

  • Château Marquis de Terme (Margaux)

Fifth Growths (Cinquième Cru)

Investor lens: the widest dispersion—some labels trade far above their rank because the market has quietly re-rated them (while the official list stays still).
 

  • Château Pontet-Canet (Pauillac)

  • Château Batailley (Pauillac)

  • Château Haut-Batailley (Pauillac)

  • Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste (Pauillac)

  • Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse (Pauillac)

  • Château Lynch-Bages (Pauillac)

  • Château Lynch-Moussas (Pauillac)

  • Château Dauzac (Margaux)

  • Château d’Armailhac (Pauillac)

  • Château du Tertre (Margaux)

  • Château Haut-Bages-Libéral (Pauillac)

  • Château Pédesclaux (Pauillac)

  • Château Belgrave (Haut-Médoc)

  • Château de Camensac (Haut-Médoc)

  • Château Cos Labory (Saint-Estèphe)

  • Château Clerc-Milon (Pauillac)

  • Château Croizet-Bages (Pauillac)

  • Château Cantemerle (Haut-Médoc)

Sweet wines: Sauternes & Barsac

The 1855 sweet-wine classification is its own world: Sauternes and Barsac only, ranked into Superior First Growth, First Growths, and Second Growths.

Superior First Growth (Premier Cru Supérieur)

  • Château d’Yquem (Sauternes)

First Growths (Premiers Crus)

  • Château La Tour Blanche (Sauternes)

  • Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey (Sauternes)

  • Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey (Sauternes)

  • Château de Rayne-Vigneau (Sauternes)

  • Château Suduiraut (Sauternes)

  • Château Coutet (Barsac)

  • Château Climens (Barsac)

  • Château Guiraud (Sauternes)

  • Château Rieussec (Sauternes)

  • Château Rabaud-Promis (Sauternes)

  • Château Sigalas-Rabaud (Sauternes)

Second Growths (Deuxième Crus)

  • Château de Myrat (Barsac)

  • Château Doisy Daëne (Barsac)

  • Château Doisy-Dubroca (Barsac)

  • Château Doisy-Védrines (Barsac)

  • Château d’Arche (Sauternes)

  • Château Filhot (Sauternes)

  • Château Broustet (Barsac)

  • Château Nairac (Barsac)

  • Château Caillou (Barsac)

  • Château Suau (Barsac)

  • Château de Malle (Sauternes)

  • Château Romer (Sauternes)

  • Château Romer du Hayot (Sauternes)

  • Château Lamothe (Sauternes)

  • Château Lamothe-Guignard (Sauternes)

FAQ

Is the 1855 Classification still relevant for wine investment?

  • Yes, less as a perfect quality guide, more as a market institution. Critics can be right that quality moves while the list barely does, but markets often price reputation as much as liquid reality.

Was the classification based on tastings?

  • No. It was built primarily on reputation and trading price, commissioned for the 1855 Paris exhibition.

Why is Château Haut-Brion included even though it isn’t in the Médoc?

  • It’s the lone Graves exception in the red classification.

Why aren’t Right Bank icons like Pétrus included?

  • The 1855 Classification is essentially a Left Bank (Médoc) + one exception system for reds, and Sauternes/Barsac for sweet wines. Other regions later developed their own frameworks.

Has the classification ever changed?

  • Very rarely. The best-known modern change is Mouton Rothschild’s promotion to First Growth in 1973, and historical notes include Cantemerle’s addition (1856).

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