The fallout from the annulment of the Saint Emilion classification is going to be pretty severe. At the moment, the chateaux are having to change the labels on all of their 2006 wines, to take off cru classe mentions. A few are saying that are keeping it on and will face the fines.
Bordeaux negociants are already reporting dismay from English wine merchants, and added to the 2007 prices, it is doing more to put people off buying Bordeaux. But there is a bright side - the 2006 are going to become very attractive if they are the last cru classe labels for the forseeable future.
Here is a roundup of various news sources talking about what has happened:
from Wine Spectator: http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Features/0,1197,4473,00.html
Château owners in St.-Emilion need to order new wine labels, just as they are preparing to bottle their 2006 wines. The administrative court of Bordeaux struck down the Right Bank appellation's classification system on July 1, which means any wines from 2006 or later cannot be labelled as Grand Cru Classé or Premier Grand Cru Classé. Château Ausone's ranking is no different from any other estate
And a few choice reactions, reported in the Telegraph: It's an aberration to condemn the classification over so little," said Nicolas Thienpont, owner of Chateau Pavie-Macquin, recently awarded the second highest rank of St Emilion premier grand cru classé.
"All those who have worked so hard to move up the rankings are being told today: 'sorry, because of four imbeciles who don't agree with it, we will cancel everything'," he said.
04/07/08 @ 13:27