Le classement de Saint-Émilion est-il bidon ?

Today, we're opening a bottle of Château Corbin 2019. Through this wine, we'll be discussing Saint-Émilion, an iconic appellation on Bordeaux's Right Bank, whose history dates back to the Middle Ages and which was built not on a single terroir, but on an ancient administrative jurisdiction inherited from the Jurade. But this episode will primarily be an opportunity to understand why Saint-Émilion is such a profoundly heterogeneous appellation, where very different terroirs coexist, from some of Bordeaux's most prestigious limestone plateaus to the peripheral sandy soils like those of Corbin. We'll also see how the Saint-Émilion classification, created in 1955 and regularly revised, works, and why it is now one of the most contested systems in the Bordeaux wine region, amidst economic stakes, debatable criteria, and conflicts of interest. Finally, I'll explain where Château Corbin stands in this hierarchy, what its terroir implies for the wine's style, and what its 2019 vintage reveals about the true level of this Grand Cru Classé category. Excessive alcohol consumption is dangerous for your health. Drink responsibly.