Saint Emilion Classification
 
I have written about this for a number of publications, including Decanter and Drinks International. Some of the text below is taken from articles previously published, some has been added specifically for this site. And no doubt it will need continually updating!
 

May 2009 - the 'eight declassified' chateaux have been allowed to keep their classified status. So, as it now stands (until 2011), the 1996 classification is in place, plus the eight chateaux who were promoted in 2006 are also allowed to keep their classification.

March 19, 2009 - from news story for www.jancisrobinson.com:
The 2006 Saint Emilion Classification definitively annulled.

The decision taken in Paris this week brings to an end a long-running saga that started shortly after the publication in December 2006 of the last version of the classification – that is renewed every ten years and has a system of moveable rankings – when four properties who lost their status as Grand Cru Classé, appealed the decision claiming unfair practises during the judging process.

The claimants won the original case, and an appeal was brought by the Saint Emilion wine body to overturn that decision. Now the appeal has been denied, it leaves the prestigious Right Bank classification, that has been in place since 1955, with serious doubts for its future.

As things stand, the 1996 Classification has been reinstated, but this is only due to last until the sale of the current 2009 vintage. After that, questions are being asked over the viability of continuing with the classification in its current, renewable, format.

President of the Saint Emilion wine body, Jean Francois Quenin of Chateau de Pressac (a Grand Cru chateau, so not affected directly by the ruling), commented, ‘The decision this week was merely a confirmation of the ruling from last year. The particular problem that the judgement rested on was the tasting element. So how do we make that truly objective for next time?’

Denis Dubourdieu, a leading wine consultant who has worked with several Saint Emilion estates, including Chateau Quinault L’Enclos and Chateau Trottevieille, pointed out the absurdity of the situation that the appellation is now facing, where tasting may not be part of the criteria for classification because it is simply too open to complaints. ‘In future versions, the last thing we are going to be able to do is to taste the wine. And yet safeguarding quality has been the corner stone of this classification.’

Some are suggesting that means going back to the method used for the 1855 classification in the Médoc, where ranking was decided solely on price. Quenin is certain, however, about the need for a classification. ‘We are very proud of the fact that our system promotes excellence through the idea of promotion and demotion. It raises both the quality and prestige of our wines worldwide, and we will work together on finding a solution. What is certain is that there will be an early warning system for properties that are at risk of losing their status.’

There are some who are viewing the result in a more positive light. Bernard Magrez, owner of Chateau Pape Clément in Pessac Léognan, and also of Chateau Fombrauge in Saint Emilion, sees it as an opportunity. ‘I bought Chateau Fombrauge in 1999 and therefore had not been owner long enough to submit the chateau for classification in the last version. But we will now have to re-establish a new classification from scratch that should come into force in 2010 or 2011. This gives me the chance to see Fombrauge classified a full five years before I would have done otherwise.’

December 2008 - Another U-turn, but one with the potential to smooth over the cracks in this system until the next classification (in theory due to take place in 2016)...
 
The French Senate dangled the possibility in December 2008 that the eight St-Emilion chateaux demoted in the region's classification will be allowed to return to their 2006 status.

It was suggested as part of a finance law amendment being passed by the French government today, but at the last minute, the decision was overturned because it was felt this was not the appropriate forum for the decision...

Back to the drawing board then - although the government said it was the form, not the content, of the amendment that they objected to, and there is hope that in the next few months there will be a solution for these eight properties...
 
July 2008 - After two years of uncertainty, Saint Emilion finally received the bad news it had been dreading when a judge annulled the classification system that has been in place since 1954. The ranking, which applies only to the St Emilion region and is reassessed every 10 years, consisted of three classifications - premier grand cru classé A, premier grand cru classé B and grand cru classé. It was called into question by four properties who had been demoted in 2006, and the case has since been in and out of court, first with the classification being suspended, and then with it being reinstituted while the investigations continued. July's decision to formally annul the ranking, although supposedly final, has been given a lifeline by the government, in August 2008, when it announced that the previous 1996 classification was to return. The rankings are said to boost the price of the wine by about 30 percent, and thus also affect property prices – and how these will now be affected is now a matter of urgency.
 
As things stand, October 2008, there are urgent discussions in Saint Emilion how to allow the chateaux that were promoted in 2006 (Chateau Grand Corbin Despagne, Château Troplong-Mondot, Chateau Bellefont-Belcier, Chateau Grand Corbin, Chateau Monbusquet, Chateau Fleur Cardinale and Chateau Destieux, among others - see below) to benefit from their hard work.

****

What Happened When

 
The Saint Emilion classification was created in 1954, and has been revised every 10 years since then. On March 30 2007, the courts (the Bordeaux administrative council, following a case brought by four declassified properties) suspended the last 10 yearly classification of grands crus, that had been announced in December 2006. It decided that the commission/jury showed signs of discriminatory practices by not visiting several of the properties. The judges further justified their decision by the ‘commercial effect’ that declassification would have on the properties that had brought their claim.

The classification had selected 61 properties (15 premiers grands crus classes, 46 grands cru classes).

A little history...
 
For Saint Emilion, the ten yearly reclassification has been going on since the 1950s, and the latest incarnation, in 2006, was seen, at first, as business as usual. There were complaints from chateaux that had been demoted, but after any judgement like this, there will always been questions and complaints – but the difference here is that  the complaints (from Chateau La Tour du Pin Figeac, Chateau Cadet Bon, Chateau Guadet and Chateau de la Marzelle) were taken seriously enough to get the entire system of classification brought into question.

Speaking after the initial judgement, Hurbert de Bouard pointed out, ‘The chateau owners were able to use new laws passed since 1996 – previously you could appeal about decisions affecting you, but not the whole system of the classification.’

Herbert de Bouard, owner of Chateau d’Angelus, and former president of Syndicate de Saint Emilion was confident that they didn’t make mistakes. ‘The originality of our classification is that INAO to applies the rules, ensuring that noone is Saint Emilion is both judge and jury. All tastings were blind, it is the surface of the property (the terroir) that is classified, not its name, and there was even one person employed for 18 months whose sole job was to check the geology of every property within the classification or who had applied for it. It was even more thorough this time than last time, and the winemakers have the right to appeal in the months before the final decision is published. Letters were sent in July 2006, and everyone has the right to appeal. A number of properties were kept in the classification after appealing, but the four who brought the case were not kept in, and took it further.’

If the classification now remains cancelled, INAO may well have to pay the winemakers for loss in earnings/prestige (INAO is currently covering court costs). Because they were in charge of the classification, they may be in line to pay a fine to the affected properties.

'One of the problems was that each chateau hadn’t been visited – but each had been tasting blind for every vintage for the past 10 years. It wasn’t just one journalist giving his opinion, but a group of experts looking at the qualities that a grand cru classe should have.

Another query was that it penalised those who bought half way through and heavily invested, that they suffered because of things they had no control over. ‘But that’s where the Saint Emilion classification is so fair, because they too will have their chance in 10 years. We all have had to wait, and great wines are never created overnight. The Saint Emilion classification is not just a question of money.’
 

‘The judge suspended, we went back because didn’t think he had the right to suspend the whole thing. He commented that he was protecting the old 1996 classification and ruled that the suspension should stand. He was in fact completely wrong, because the 1996 classification had been dissolved to make way for the new one, but because French law accords a value to judgements passed in court, we are using his words to at least make the 1996 classification ‘valid’ for now.'

Opinions
 

Alain Moeuix, president of Union des Grand Cru Classes de Saint Emilion, and owner of Chateau Fonroque, ‘It won’t affect chateaux that have been classified for a long time, as their prices are well established. But those who have just been classified, or those who have just regained classification, the court’s decision will make life more difficult for them.’

Nicolas de Baillencourt, Chateau Gazin, ‘It’s the sixth classification, one every ten years and the jury has always been known, it wasn’t hidden. Everyone knew who was on it – it was published in the local paper, in the Revue des Vins de France, and now a judge suspends it. It’s just ridiculous.’

 

1996 St. Emilion Classification (the names in bold altered in the 2006 classification)

PREMIERS GRANDS CRUS CLASSÉS A

Château Ausone

Château Cheval Blanc

PREMIERS GRANDS CRUS CLASSÉS B

Château Angélus

Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse)

Château Belair

Château Canon

Château Figeac

Château La Gaffelière

Château Magdelaine

Château Pavie

Château Trottevieille

GRANDS CRUS CLASSÉS 

Chateau L’Arrosee 

Château Balestard la Tonnelle

Château Beau-Séjour-Bécot

Chateau Bellevue (demoted 2006)

Château Bergat

Château Berliquet

Chateau Cadet-Bon (demoted 2006)

Château Cadet Piola

Château Canon la Gaffelière

Château Cap de Mourlin

Château Chauvin

Chateau La Clotte

Chateau La Cleusiere (not demoted 2006, but disappeared as was bought and merged into Chateau Pavie)

Chateau La Couspaude

Château Corbin

Château Corbin Michotte

Chateau Cure-Bon (not demoted 2006, but disappeared as was bought and merged into Chateau Canon in 2000)

Couvent des Jacobins

Château Dassault

Chateau La Dominique

Chateau Faurie-de-Souchard (demoted 2006)

Chateau La Fonplegade

Château Fonplégade

Château Fonroque

Château Franc Mayne

Chateau Guadet Saint Julien (demoted 2006, also, although totally unrelated, this is now known as Chateau Guadet)

Château Grand Mayne

Château Grand Pontet

Château Haut Corbin

Château Haut Sarpe

Château L’Arrosée

Château La Clotte

Château La Couspaude

Château La Dominique

Chateau La Marzelle (demoted 2006)

Château La Serre

Château La Tour Figeac

Chateau La Tour du Pin Figeac (demoted 2006) – there are two of these, one belonging to Moueix, one to Giraud Belvier – both were demoted.

Château Laniote

Château Larcis Ducasse

Château Larmande

Château Laroque

Château Laroze

Château Le Prieuré

Château Les Grandes Murailles

Château Matras

Château Moulin du Cadet

Château Pavie-Decesse

Château Pavie-Macquin (promoted 2006 to Grand Cru Classe B)

Chateau Petit Fourie de Soutard (demoted 2006)

Château Ripeau

Château Saint-Georges-Côte-Pavie

Château Soutard

Chateau Tetre Daugay (demoted 2006)

Château Troplong-Mondot (promoted 2006 to Grand Cru Classe B)

Chateau Villemaurine (demoted 2006)

Chateau Yon Figeac (demoted 2006)

Clos de l’Oratoire

Clos des Jacobins

Clos Fourtet (promoted 2006 to Grand Cru Classe B)

Clos Saint-Martin

Couvent des Jacobins

Promoted to Grand Cru Classe in 2006, now Grand Cru again

Château Bellefont-Belcier

Château Destieux

Château Fleur Cardinale

Château Grand Corbin

Château Grand Corbin-Despagne

Château Monbousquet

 
 

(As an aside, not all of the eleven demoted properties complained about the ruling - it was just four who proceeded with a court case - Chateau La Tour du Pin Figeac, Chateau Cadet Bon, Chateau Guadet and Chateau de la Marzelle)

Saint Emilion Commission in 2006

MEMBRES TITULAIRES

M. Pierre PERROMAT, Président d’Honneur de l’INAO,

M. Arnaud AGOSTINI, Conseiller Juridique,

M. Jacques BLOUIN, Chef du Service Vin à la Chambre d’Agriculture de la Gironde, en

retraite,

M. Christian DELPEUCH, Négociant, Président du CIVB de 2004 à 2006,

M. Jacques DUTAU, Maître de Conférences à la Faculté d’OEnologie de Bordeaux,

M. Max de LESTAPIS, Président de la Fédération Nationale des Courtiers en Vins et

Spiritueux,

M. Valentin LILLET, Courtier,

M. Philippe ROUDIE, Professeur de Géographie à l’Université Michel Montaigne de Bordeaux

III, en retraite,

M. Antoine VIALARD, Professeur de Droit à l’Université Bordeaux IV, en retraite,

MEMBRES SUPPLEANTS

M. Jacques BARRIERE, Négociant, en retraite,

M. Jacques BOISSENOT, OEnologue

M. Jean-Pierre SOYER, Professeur d’Agronomie à l’INRA Bordeaux.