Talk:First Growth

Important information on first growths

 * Château Lafite-Rothschild (See Ottawa Wine Tasting of 1981; Berlin Wine Tasting of 2004)
 * Château Margaux (See Ottawa Wine Tasting of 1981; Berlin Wine Tasting of 2004)
 * Château Latour (See San Diego Wine Tasting of 1975; Ottawa Wine Tasting of 1981)
 * Château Haut-Brion (See Paris Wine Tasting of 1976; Ottawa Wine Tasting of 1981; Wine Spectator Wine Tasting of 1986,: French Culinary Institute Wine Tasting of 1986; The Judgment of Paris 30th Anniversary)
 * Château Mouton-Rothschild (added in 1973) (See Paris Wine Tasting of 1976; Ottawa Wine Tasting of 1981; Wine Spectator Wine Tasting of 1986; French Culinary Institute Wine Tasting of 1986; San Diego Wine Tasting of 1975; The Judgment of Paris 30th Anniversary)

In all of the above wine competitions,(1) all tasting was done blind and (2) the results were listed in rank order from highest to lowest. There were no multiple winners except in the case of multiple categories (for example one red wine winner and one white wine winner).PhilippeLeClair 22:14, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

Clearly, some have an emotional or economic interest in minimising or even denying the importance of these consumer-oriented blind tasting competitions:

The Emperor Has No Clothes

The owners of 30 of the best wines in the world, in the judgment of a Champagne company president, were invited to a party in 1997. The event was organized by Jean-Claude Rouzaud to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his presidency of Champagne Louis Roederer. Half of his selections were from France. "I’m a chauvinist and a nationalist" he explained.

"Before agreeing to participate, the Bordeaux first growths set some conditions, the foremost being that no comparative tasting with their international competition would be held." They didn’t even want to be included in a group photo with their colleagues from other wine regions, although they finally reluctantly agreed. "But getting the Bordelais to have their wines served with the others', that was out of the question," said a Roederer spokesperson.

So the event took place in two separate parts: first, a dinner featuring the Bordeaux wines; then a tasting the next day with all the other wines, but no Bordeaux.

"They are cowards," said a non-Bordeaux producer. But the host said "I understand them." He explained that "They feel that when you are first growths you are untouchable." Their problem is that they actually know better.

They and the other named growth vineyards have a carefully cultivated image of  superiority. This is a marketing advantage worth an incredibly enormous sum of money every year. However, they frequently fail to perform well in blind comparisons and realize how vulnerable they are to exposure and the destruction of their vaulted and very valuable reputations.

Because of this the named growths (1) want to avoid  comparisons  and (2) try to discredit  the results of such comparisons. Who can blame them? Those results can cost them a fortune in lost revenue. But the consumer benefits immensely.

Party in Paris. Wine Spectator, 15-11-97 Vinifera 02:43, 20 June 2006 (UTC)PhilippeLeClair 15:29, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

This shouldnt have a capital 'G'. Should fix sometime Justinc 11:41, 7 Oct 2004 (UTC)

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