Thank you and thanks for watching. I'm glad they're helpful! Cheers!

Thank you! I'm always glad to hear when the casts are helpful to folks working in the industry. Cheers!

Ive been using this to study as well for tw&m. Really great content. Thanks so much

Thanks! I'm really glad to hear that. Bordeaux can be a beast with all of the different classifications. I'm hopeful the casts make it easier to process. Thanks for checking them out and taking the time to write in. Cheers!

Hi. Thanks for the message. These are all great questions, so let me take a shot at them. First, you're not the only person to wonder about the continuing relevance of the 1855 classification. Never underestimate the power of a "best of" list or the power of name recognition. With reference to your second question, remember that the region, district/village or single vineyard classifications (not so relevant for Bordeaux) are all AOCs as well (my cast on French Wine Classification covers this in more detail). Generally speaking, the smaller the AOC the higher the expectation for quality (though, like most things in wine, this is controversial). Finally, the Grand Cru Classé and other designations are always tied to a specific classification, so if you see verbiage like that, the Chateau sporting it has some kind of classification to its name. Grand Vin, by contrast, is something any Chateau can put on its bottle, though the expectation is that this designates their best bottling. The bottom line is you do have to commit some things to memory if you want to make sense out of this stuff -- New World classifications are definitely easier to make sense out of. Hope all of this helps and thanks for the questions and for listening to the casts. Cheers!

Thanks for the suggestion. I've thought about doing a break down of some French regions, and Bordeaux would be an ideal place to start. It's just a question of timing and balancing the different possible casts that I can do. Thanks for watching and for taking the time to make a suggestion. Cheers!

Thank you! I tend to decant big, bold wines that are on the young side. I find it's worth the effort in most cases. What do you think? Cheers!

Thanks for the message. I have a cast on cellaring and storage that will have some information on aging. Let me think about how I might address a subject like decanting. Thanks again and cheers!

Thank you! I'm glad it's helpful. Cheers!

The equivalent of a growth that is not classified essentially

Grand Cru Classé is just the nomenclature that Graves uses in its classification. So, Haut-Brion is both a "Premier Grand Cru Classé" and a "Grand Cru Classé" because it's classified in two separate classification (the 1855 and the Graves 1953). So, a Chateau like Smith Haut Lafitte is a "growth wine" but it's a growth wine in a separate classification than the 61 chateaux that were classified in 1855. Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte is a classified growth, just not within the same classification as, say, Chateau Margaux or Chateau Lynch-Bages, while Haut Brion is classified in the same classification as Margaux and Lynch-Bages AS WELL AS in the same classification as Smith Haut Lafitte. Don't know if that made things any clearer or if I missed an aspect of your question. Let me know. Cheers!

The Unknown Winecaster you answered exactly my question it is a growth but not a growth under the 1855 I really understand the controversy now when you put into perspective that Haut Brion is both a CRU & Premier... thank you without saying to much appreciate you really helping me out this was hard to understand!

I know, right? Cheers!