A few friends asked this question after I recently wrote about Giaconda Chardonnay, and it’s a good question…that would help when selecting a wine or choosing something special for a gift.
An icon, in the general term, is defined as meaning ‘a person or thing worthy of great respect’. So in the wine world what makes these wines worthy of great respect and how are they selected…
Bordeaux is the place you probably think of for wine legends and quite rightly. Bordeaux’s wine classification system was brought in in 1855 outlining the best chateaux from the Médoc region and this top list of crus classés (classified growths) hasn’t changed all that much since then. History, prestige, and quality are big ticks in the icon box. The 1855 Bordeaux Classification still stands as the single most important and famous classification system of any wine region in the world. The premiers crus of Bordeaux are some of the most iconic wines in the world, there are just five: Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Margaux, Château Mouton Rothschild and Château Haut-Brion. There are a further 56 in the classification system categorised from second growth (deuxièmes crus) to fifth growth (cinquièmes crus). More information can be found here.
But outside of the prestige of France (there are further classification systems in France too…the above is just one side of Bordeaux…we could go on with Saint-Émilion, Burgundy, Champagne but perhaps another day…) where do you begin?
Australian wine has had an interesting history. Traditionally vines were planted to create fortified wines and it wasn’t really until the 1960s that table wine took off. But Australian wine picked up a pretty poor reputation internationally with vast quantities of cheap plonk pumped into export markets in the UK and US. Today that’s an image Wine Australia is fighting hard to reverse, and rightly so. There are some seriously good wines here with the heritage, quality and prestige to back them up…
Langton’s Classification of Australian wine is the leading guide to Australia’s finest wine. It was first published in 1990 and is argued to be the most famous and widely-respected wine classification outside of Europe. The list is based on a wines reputation and track record at auction; to make the list the wine must have been made for a minimum of 10 vintages.
The list is revised every five years and currently there are 22 wines classified as exceptional, 46 wines as outstanding and 68 as excellent. Penfolds Grange, of course, tops the list as it has done since the 90s but Henschke’s Hill of Grace Shiraz, Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay, Mount Mary Quintet and Wendouree Shiraz join Grange to be classified as the top five and as the Australian equivalent of France’s Grand Crus. 3/5 of these are in South Australia…I’ve come to the right place!