Pavie Wins, Ausone and Cheval Blanc Out of the Classification!

WINE TALK
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They walked! Wow.

Not that either need that silly, scandalous Classification anyway.

Saw this posted on BWE, quite interesting.

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[popcorn.gif]

Wow, St Emilion is almost as fun as watching the Gossip Girl reboot.

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Neither estate needs the Classification to price or sell their wine. Plus, without belonging to the classification, they can add to their vineyards without approval. Not they will with ease as terroir like theirs is not easy to find.

In the Medoc, because the classification is set in stone and signed into law by the Minister of Agriculture, I think, no estate can leave the classification. But in Saint Emilion, as it’s reevaluated every decade, any Chñteau can choose to participate or not.

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By the wine, how does Pavie win? This is bad for Pavie, Angelus or any future Classe A wine.

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It was sarcasm, Jeff. Come on! neener

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This is bad and sad for ALL classifications in St. Emilion.

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FOR THE FRENCH IMPAIRED champagne.gif [snort.gif] neener

9:31 PM (4 minutes ago)

[EXCLUSIVE] Cheval Blanc and Ausone withdraw from the classification of Saint-Émilion
Coup from tonnerre to Saint-Émilion: the first two historic ‘A’ Classified Grands Crus of the appellation, Chñteau Cheval Blanc and Chñteau Ausone, have decided not to submit an application for the next classification, which must be born in 2022.

While the applications were to be submitted on June 30, two failed to appeal, and not least : ChĂąteau Cheval Blanc and ChĂąteau Ausone, which were classified First Grands Crus ClassĂ©s ‘A’ since the genesis of the classification of Saint-Émilion in 1954, decided not to stand again, and therefore to withdraw from the race. This is a large magnitude explosion for the classification, whose previous one is still facing some turmoil and whose next version is particularly expected at the turn.

For Pierre Lurton and Pierre-Olivier Clouet, Cheval Blanc’s director and technical director respectively, “this is a heavy decision for the company, but we simply do not find ourselves in the criteria of this classification. We considered the possibility of filing a file. But the evaluation grid is too far from what seems fundamental to us: the terroir, the wine, the History. Other secondary elements took on too much importance in the final note”. Aware that their withdrawal will inevitably deal a significant blow to the prestige of the classification, the leaders of Cheval Blanc specify that they do not want to undermine the work “of all the winegrowers who work hard, want to progress and have done everything to obtain the rank of grand cru classĂ©". They first want to "put the church back in the center of the village on what must be the criteria for evaluating a great wine “and intend to” remain the first ambassadors of the vineyard of Saint-Emilion, for which we have the greatest respect.”

La Clotte and Quinault L’Enclos also retire

On Ausone’s side, the speech is identical. Pauline Vauthier, who runs the family property, explains : "we had reservations for a long time about this classification, those who know my father [Alain Vauthier, editor’s note] will not be surprised by this decision, which we have long matured, as a family”. As with Cheval Blanc, the application was even completed, “but as we moved forward, it lost all meaning for us. The terroir and tasting part was too small compared to the receptive or social networks ; but for a wine like Ausone, it is fundamental. This classification provides that we must judge the wines only over the last fifteen years, but it is over a much longer period that we must judge the great wines”.

In both cases, Cheval Blanc as Ausone, we defend ourselves that the possible arrival of new ’ A ’ in 2022 (Pavie and AngĂ©lus had already joined the club in 2012) motivated this decision. Moreover, it is certain that when it comes to two brands as powerful as “Cheval “or” Ausone“, part of the collective imagination of wine lovers and among the most prized labels in the world, the stakes of a classification are much less vital:” but that is not why we decided to withdraw”, specifies Pauline Vauthier. “It is not at all that you consider yourself above the ranking, or that you do not need it, it would be terribly pretentious. It is only that we no longer recognize ourselves in its criteria”” Consistent to the end, the Vauthiers have also decided to withdraw their ChĂąteau La Clotte from the race in the standings. Similarly, the Cheval Blanc team did not apply for ChĂąteau Quinault L’Enclos, also owned by Bernard Arnault and the FrĂšre family.

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Which has more legs? Asking for a friend. [popcorn.gif]

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So they are saying the criteria now has more emphasis on them from a Social Networking/Marketing/Cellar Door type angle over the Terroir/Tasting?

"As for Cheval Blanc, the application file was even made, “but as we progressed, it lost all its meaning for us. The terroir and tasting part occupied too little compared to the receptive or social networks;”

Examination of nominations

Admissible application files are forwarded to the classification committee.
The choice of the vintages taken, identical for all the candidates, is left to the discretion of the commission, over a maximum period of the last ten years for the candidates in “grand cru classĂ©â€ and the last fifteen years for the “premiers grands crus classĂ©s”. Each vintage results in the collection of four bottles of 0.75 l from the candidates.
Any absence of a vintage will lead to the issuance of a tasting score of 0 for the vintage in question.
The committee reserves the right to verify the traceability of samples, in particular by having analytical checks carried out on the basis of samples taken from the place of sale. It may request from the services of the National Institute of Origin and Quality, the ODG, the applicant or any other interested person any additional information it considers useful.
The criteria and weightings used by the committee to determine the candidates’ score are as follows:

  • For the mention “grand cru classĂ©â€:
  1. Level of quality and consistency of the wines appreciated by tasting the samples (50% of the final grade); the lowest tasting score is not taken into account in the calculation of the tasting average;
  2. Reputation assessed with regard to the national or international valuation of the wine of the farm, the enhancement of the site (promotional actions, press files, actions related to wine tourism, accessibility of the facilities to the public) and distribution methods (20% of the final score);
  3. Characterization of the exploitation assessed from the land base, the homogeneity of the cultural entity(s) and the topographical and geo-soil analysis (20% of the final score);
  4. Management of the holding both in terms of wine and oenology appreciated taking into account the grape varieties, structuring and management of the vineyard, parcel traceability in winemaking and the conditions of vinification and ageing (10% of the final grade);

Any candidate whose final score is greater than or equal to 14 out of 20 is proposed to the “grand cru classĂ©â€ classification.

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I don’t think this is about social networking. That was a crude automated translation.

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whoever gets the most likes on facebook gets promoted to Classe A

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The translation isn’t bad. The social network language AFAIK (and I was fluent in my teens–pre-social networks) does actually refer to things like Facebook and is not intended to mean something like a good ol boys club. The impression part is more open to interpretation where it seems the gist of what they’re saying is that “buzz” determines classification more than merit.

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As someone who does not follow all news Bordeaux and only knows about this by what I’ve read in this thread the below statement certainly seemed to stick out like a sore thumb when I read these references to social networks. Maybe I’m mistaken but it certainly looks like they are put off by this sort of focus being such a large part of being in or out.

  1. Reputation assessed with regard to the national or international valuation of the wine of the farm, the enhancement of the site (promotional actions, press files, actions related to wine tourism, accessibility of the facilities to the public) and distribution methods (20% of the final score);
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WOW!!! Chapeau to them. The classification needs them far more than they need the classification.

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And not a very good one.

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I mean
 gossip girl is about high school kids
 blush

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For those who don’t read French, here is an accurate translation.

“Fuck you you silly people who think you are as good as we are. I point my private parts at your Aunty”.

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That is a short point !! neener [snort.gif]

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Easy to understand. More “A” lowers the status of Cheval Blanc and Ausone. The decision says we play in a league of our own.