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19-506: Château La Tour Blanche , or La Tour-Blanche , is a sweet white wine ranked as Premier Cru Classé (French, “First Growth”) 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 . Uniquely among classed growth wineries, the estate is the property of

38-456: A period credited with bringing the tradition of sweet white wine to Sauternes from his Rhine origins. After the rewarding outcome of the 1855 Classification and Focke's death, the estate was eventually acquired by Daniel "Osiris" Iffla who among several patriotic acts, testamented La Tour Blanche to the State upon his death in 1907, on the condition it would become an agricultural college. From 1911,

57-554: Is equally famous for both red and (dry) white wines, although red wine is still predominant. It includes the only red-wine producer outside the Haut-Médoc classified in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 , the premier cru Château Haut-Brion , and also includes all of the châteaux listed in the 1953/59 classification of Graves . These classed growths account for a third of

76-420: Is the predominant grape, but a somewhat greater proportion of Merlot is typically used in the blend. Cabernet Franc is also used, with small amounts of Petit Verdot and Malbec . Styles vary more widely than in most Bordeaux AOCs, but typical flavours are blackcurrant and cedar, and the wines are often described as 'earthy'. Sauvignon blanc and Sémillon are the grapes used, usually blended. The wine

95-545: The Second wine Les Charmilles de La Tour Blanche, annually averaging 1,250 cases. In smaller quantities, the estate produces the dry white wine Les Jardins de Thinoy, the dry white wine Isis, the demi-sec Osiris, and the red wine Cru de Cinquet. First Growth First Growth ( French : Premier Cru ) status is a classification of wines primarily from the Bordeaux region of France. The wines considered “best of

114-795: The 1855 list in that it is updated approximately every ten years based on new assessments of quality. For each new release of the classification, wines may be promoted or demoted within the list. A wine may even be removed entirely, while other unclassified wines may be added. In 2006, for example, eleven wines were removed from the list, six new wines added, and two existing wines promoted to a higher division. The Saint-Émilion Classification currently labels 15 wines as First Growths. These Premiers Grands Crus Classés , subdivided into two further classes : A (2 wines) and B (13 wines). A further 64 wines are currently classified as Grands Crus Classés . Pomerol has refused to create any sort of classification scheme but it has produced red wines that are among

133-511: The 61 great classified wines, all but one came from the Médoc region. The exception was the premier cru Château Haut-Brion, produced in Graves . The 1855 list remained unchanged for over a hundred years until finally Mouton Rothschild was promoted to Premier Cru status in 1973, after decades of relentless lobbying by its powerful owner, Baron Philippe de Rothschild . Of lesser importance, in 1988

152-672: The French state, and the site of the La Tour Blanche School of Viticulture and Oenology. Records date the estate's origins to the 18th century, and connect them to Jean Saint-Marc du Latourblanche, treasurer-general to Louis XIV . Following the French Revolution , the estate was owned by Pierre Pécherie, but a later owner, the German Frederic Focke raised the reputation of the winery, and was for

171-506: The La Tour Blanche School of Viticulture and Oenology has been responsible for education and training of wine industry professionals, as well as running La Tour Blanche as a classed winery. The estate contains 65 hectares (160 acres) with grape varieties of 83% Sémillon , 12% Sauvignon blanc and 5% Muscadelle , as well as a smaller cultivation of the red grape varieties Merlot , Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon . Annual production averages 4,000 cases of La Tour Blanche, in addition to

190-579: The area is forested. It includes 1,580 hectares (3,900 acres) of vines. The soil is very gravelly. Pessac-Léognan has a long wine-making history. Red wine from this region (and the rest of Graves) was the wine originally loved by the English as claret , during the 300 years that Aquitaine was under English rule, from 1152 to 1453. The area includes the oldest named property in Bordeaux, Château Pape Clément , founded by Pope Clement V in 1306. In

209-403: The best” are assigned the rank of Premier Cru, with only five wines, Château Lafite Rothschild , Château Margaux , Château Haut-Brion , Château Latour , and Château Mouton Rothschild rated “First Growth”. The need for a classification of the best Bordeaux wines arose from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris . The result was the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 , a list of

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228-530: The lower (though still prestigious) rank of Deuxième Cru (Second Growth). One wine ( Château d'Yquem ) was considered so great it was granted a special Premier Cru Supérieur classification. With the exception of Château Haut-Brion from Graves, the 1855 Classification did not include producers in the regions of Graves , Saint-Émilion and Pomerol . For details on their own classification schemes, see their sections below. Burgundy maintains its own classification scheme based on specific appellations . Although

247-517: The mid-seventeenth century, Château Haut-Brion became the first château of international renown, being praised by Samuel Pepys in 1663, while the Médoc was still swamp. However, the appellation of Pessac-Léognan is relatively recent, dating to 1987. Before then, the area was part of the Graves AOC, and known informally as Haut-Graves . As with the Médoc to the north, Cabernet Sauvignon

266-411: The most expensive in the world, such as Petrus . Pessac-Leognan 44°45′35″N 0°36′15″W  /  44.7597°N 0.6041°W  / 44.7597; -0.6041 Pessac-Léognan ( French: [pɛsak leɔɲɑ̃] ) is a wine growing area and Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée , in the northern part of the Graves region of Bordeaux . Unlike most Bordeaux appellations, Pessac-Léognan

285-544: The omission of wines of Graves from the official classification was having a negative effect on the price and desirability of wines from the region. To improve marketing the region announced in 1953 its own classification of red wines and one white wine, with more white wines added in 1959. Sixteen wines were given special classification. Missing from the 1855 list, the Bordeaux region of Saint-Émilion offered its own classification in 1955 to improve market demand and prices. The Classification of Saint-Émilion wine differs from

304-463: The premier cru Château Haut-Brion was changed in appellation from Graves to Pessac-Leognan to represent apparent changes in soil structure caused by the urbanisation of areas surrounding Bordeaux. Also in 1855, 21 of the best sweet wines from Bordeaux were classified as Grand Crus Classés in a separate list. In the original classification, nine wines (primarily from the Sauternes and Barsac regions) were classed as Premier Cru , while 11 were assigned

323-465: The terminology used is similar, the classification hierarchy is different and also attaches to the vineyards themselves. The most-highly rated vineyards are graded as Grand Cru , while those at the next level are classified as Premier Cru . The communes of Bommes, Fargues and Preignac were once separate communes but now fall into the single commune of Sauternes. After the Second World War

342-640: The top ranked wines, named the Grand Crus Classés (Great Classified Growths). With several thousand Chateaux producing their wines in Bordeaux, to be classified was to carry a mark of high prestige. Within the Grand Cru Classé list, wines were further ranked and placed in one of five divisions. The best of the best wines were assigned the highest rank of Premier Cru; only four wines, Château Latour , Château Lafite Rothschild , Château Margaux and Château Haut-Brion were deemed worthy. Of all

361-653: The wine produced in Pessac-Léognan. Pessac-Léognan, France lies on the left bank of the Garonne . It is immediately south of the city of Bordeaux (with a small portion to the west): indeed some of the northern vineyards of Pessac-Léognan are completely surrounded by the housing estates of Bordeaux, as a result of the city's southward expansion. It consists of 8 communes: (from north to south) Mérignac , Talence , Pessac , Gradignan , Villenave-d'Ornon , Cadaujac , Léognan and Martillac . A significant part of

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