JUST WILLIAMS
Classified information: how best to rank a region’s producers? The 1855 Médoc classification has become an irrelevance, but can modern-day attempts to rank the leading wineries of a region do any better? David Williams considers the new Pomerol Classification and The California List
W
ine classifications are the vinous equivalent of the
caste system. Hierarchical
throwbacks that are almost feudal in the
way they separate the haves from the havenots.
Still the wine trade can’t seem to do
without them. This year alone we’ve already had the launch of two new
1855-alikes for regions that have hitherto
been resistant to the idea of the immutable ranking.
The first, The California List, arrived
in March, an attempt by the UK branch of the Wine Institute of California to,
in the Institute’s own words, focus “on
the producers that have been the most important in creating and driving the
California wine category in the UK. A list of
exceptional California producers renowned for their quality and overall impact in the UK”.
The list, which was put together by a
panel comprising Jancis Robinson MW,
Mark Andrew MW, Sarah Knowles MW,
Ronan Sayburn MS and Stephen Brook, was whittled down to a final 51 from a
longlist of 200. It differs from the 1855
Classification, or a similar ranking such as the Langton’s Classification of Australian
On your bike – you missed out on a place in the top nine
Wine, in focusing on the producers, their
“reputation and performance”, rather than
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2022 24
