Bordeaux growth classes

[joeyz6]

As I'm not very educated on the specific chateaux of Bordeaux, I was looking through that section of the wine store yesterday. I noticed that Chateau Angelus, which I had never heard of, had 1er Grand Cru Classe printed on its bottle. How is that so? I thought there were only five first growths (Lafite, Mouton, etc.)?
Thanks.
-Joe

[Innkeeper]

That designation usually is used in Burgundy. Not familiar with Angelus either. If it is a Bordeaux the designation is eye wash. 1st Grand Cru is not the highest Burgundian class either. There is also a Premier Cru. To further complicate things, these can apply to district, village, and individual producers.

[Drew]

Joe, here's a link that I often use as a good "in a nutshell" reference for the Bordeaux Classification issue.

http://www.klwines.com/1855_classification.asp

Drew

[joeyz6]

Thanks for the Web site and the info, guys. I looked up the wine on winespectator.com and there is indeed a Chateau Angelus in St. Emilion with some impressive marks and a high price tag. But it's not listed as one of St. Emilion's first growths on that classification list. Maybe it goes by another name, who knows ...

[winoweenie]

Hi Loeyz6. There seems to be some confusion in my mind about the wine you're looking for. St. Emilion has a wine L'Angelus that is classified as a grand cru classe. St Emilion was excluded from the great 1855 classification and, as they feel they produce some of the greatest wines in Bordeaux, they set there own classification.
Some of the great wines of Bordeaux are produced in St. Emilion such as Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Figeac, Canon, Magdelaine and since 1989 the L'Angelus. Most of these wines brought almost the same prices as the 1st growths until the insanity of the 2000 vintage when the 1st growths priced themselves on par with a small house. ( The 1996 Haut Brion is selling for around 200 as is the Cheval Blanc ). The other area not included in the 1855 classification was Pomerol which has the HIGHEST priced red wine in the world....Petrus. If, indeed the wine you're inquiring about is L'Angelus, it is a great bottle that is on par with the great reds of the world. WW

[This message has been edited by winoweenie (edited 08-04-2002).]

[joeyz6]

I assume we're talking about the same wine, then. The Web site Drew mentioned above has a list of the chateaux of the five growth classes of the 1855 classification, plus the two classes of the St. Emilion classification. It doesn't list L'Angelus (or Angelus, for that matter), which is why I was still confused -- but it must have been an oversight or typo.

Thanks for the clarification.

[This message has been edited by joeyz6 (edited 08-04-2002).]

[Thomas]

What is interesting about ww's right-on recounting is that the wines of Pomerol and St Emilion (sp) have a fair amount of Merlot in 'em. Shows what Merlot can do in the right hands, and in the right blend.

[winoweenie]

AND....the aforementioned Petrus is over 95% Merlot.WW ( As are most of the wines of Pomerol