The Five First Growths Were Only Four at First — So Why Did They Become “Five”?

There is a phrase that turns up in almost every conversation about wine: “the five First Growths of Bordeaux.” Mouton, Margaux, Latour, Lafite, Haut-Brion — you must have heard at least one of these names before.

But that name was not “five” from the very beginning. When this classification was born in 1855, only four châteaux stood at its summit. The fifth seat remained empty for a full 118 years.

First, Both “Château” and “the Classification” Are Misunderstood

The setting was the 1855 Paris World’s Fair. Emperor Napoleon III wanted to present a “face” for Bordeaux wine at this festival meant to display France’s prestige, and entrusted the practical work, through the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, to the local brokers’ guild (Syndicat des Courtiers).

Here, let us clear up the first misconception. “Château” originally means “castle” or “manor house” in French. But in Bordeaux, it means something else. Here it becomes a word for the wine producer itself. In fact, far more “châteaux” do not look like castles than do.

One more thing. This classification is not the result of a tasting. The standard the brokers used was the average trading price from 1815 to 1855 — a “ranking by track record,” in which wines that had sold for more were placed higher. In this way, on April 18, 1855, a classification of 58 châteaux across five growths, First through Fifth, was completed (following later divisions and mergers, the total stands at 61 today). The four First Growths at the summit were Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, and Haut-Brion. At the time, they were the “four First Growths.”

Château Mouton Rothschild — A Century-Long Challenge to the Classification

The story of the first seat begins with a challenge.

In 1853, Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild of England purchased Mouton. Yet in the 1855 classification, what Mouton was given was only Second Growth. The baron was not satisfied. From then on, Mouton’s label would carry these words — “First, I cannot be. Second, I do not deign to be. Mouton, I am.”

In 1922, his great-grandson Baron Philippe de Rothschild inherited the château at the age of 20. In 1924, he began “château bottling” — a system in which the estate itself handles everything from harvest to labeling to sale — and this became the foundation for the high-quality winemaking that followed.

Ever since 1945 — the year of victory, when the label carried the letter “V” and a laurel branch — the tradition of commissioning a leading artist of the era to design the label, every year, became established. The artwork changes every year — a château like no other in the world.

And then, 1973. With the signature of Agriculture Minister Jacques Chirac, Mouton at last achieved promotion to First Growth. By coincidence, a work by Picasso, who died that same year, adorned the label for that vintage. The motto, too, was rewritten — “First, I am. Second, I once was. Mouton does not change.”

A ranking handed down once, forced to face a second judgment on merit — that is the story of Mouton.

Château Margaux — A Name That Survived the Torrent

The second, Margaux, is a château often described as the most elegant of the five. But its history has not been a peaceful one.

The Fumel family, its owners in the 18th century, were later joined by marriage to the du Barry family. When the French Revolution swept through, the head of the household was executed, and the château was confiscated. Even Margaux, for all its renown, could not escape the turbulent currents of the age.

Passing through the chaos of the Revolution and changing owners along the way, Margaux nonetheless remained at the summit of the classification, and was counted among the original four First Growths in 1855.

Even beyond the turbulent era that sent its name adrift, the name alone remained at the summit — that is the story of Margaux.

Château Latour — A Single Tower That Survived

The third, Latour, is a château whose name carries the memory of war.

The setting for this story is the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453). At the time, the Bordeaux region had long been under English rule, and France sought to win it back. In 1453, the aging general John Talbot led his troops in an advance on Castillon, but what awaited him was an overwhelming French artillery position. Talbot lost his horse to the bombardment and fell on the battlefield at the hands of French soldiers. This single battle effectively brought the Hundred Years’ War to a close.

The château’s name comes from the tower (La Tour) that once stood on this land. Ever since it first appeared in a record from 1331 as the “Tower of Saint-Lambert,” the name changed over time to the “Tower of Saint-Maubert,” and eventually settled into the single word “Latour.” Only the name of a tower, carrying the memory of that battle, remained on the bottle across the centuries.

Only the name of a tower survived, crossing centuries of time — that is the story of Latour.

Château Lafite Rothschild — A Dream the Court Once Held

The fourth, Lafite Rothschild, is a château of refined, elegant bearing whose name is recorded in the court history of Versailles.

In 1755, Marshal de Richelieu, newly appointed Governor of Bordeaux, is said to have brought the wine of this estate to the court at Versailles — the first occasion said to have brought Lafite into conversation at court. From then on, it came to be widely known at court.

An anecdote from that same court era is also passed down: that a certain marquise lost out to the Prince de Conti in bidding for a vineyard in Burgundy, and that vineyard came to be called “Romanée-Conti” after the prince’s name. It is a small legend of uncertain truth, born of the power struggles of the court.

In 1868, at an auction in Paris, Baron James de Rothschild purchased Lafite. The baron died shortly after the purchase, but his three sons carried the estate forward. Lafite, too, thus passed into the hands of the same Rothschild family as Mouton.

A wine that once won the favor of the court returned, a century later, into the hands of a distantly related family — that is the story of Lafite.

Château Haut-Brion — The First Name on Record

The fifth, Haut-Brion, is the only château among the five First Growths located in the Graves district, near the center of Bordeaux.

On April 10, 1663, the diarist Samuel Pepys recorded an event at a tavern in London: that he came across a French wine called “Ho Bryan.” This is considered to be among the oldest surviving records in the English-speaking world of a wine noted by name.

The name is said to derive from the Celtic word “Briga” — meaning “hill.”

In the early 19th century, the diplomat Talleyrand owned this château for several years. Ten years after he let it go, at the Congress of Vienna beginning in 1814, a banquet prepared by the chef Antonin Carême is said to have become the stage for French diplomacy. The phrase describing the stalled state of the negotiations — “the congress dances, but does not proceed” — was also coined in this era.

More than 360 years ago, in a diary entry in London, a “name” remained — that is the story of Haut-Brion.

Common Misconceptions

• “The five First Growths is a name that has existed since ancient times” → In fact, it only became “five” starting in 1973. At the outset in 1855, only four châteaux stood at the summit.
• “Château means castle” → In Bordeaux, the word refers to the wine producer itself. Producers that actually have a magnificent castle-like manor are, in fact, the minority.
• “The classification is today’s ranking of taste” → In fact, it is a ranking made more than 170 years ago, based on the average trading price from 1815 to 1855. The only time a growth itself actually moved was Mouton’s promotion in 1973 (there were separate changes in the lineup, such as the addition of Cantemerle in 1855 and subsequent mergers), and it has remained almost fixed ever since, continuing to this day.

All You Need to Remember

1. “The five First Growths” refers to the five producers standing at the summit (First Growth) of the 1855 classification. It became “five” only starting in 1973.
2. The classification is not a ranking of taste, but “a record of its time,” based on trading prices from more than 170 years ago. Challenge, hardship, war, dream, record — behind the numbers lie different stories.
3. “Château” is not the name of a castle, but the name of a producer. The single word engraved on the label usually folds in the history of many generations.

Grasp these three, and you can already talk about “the five First Growths” as more than a piece of memorized trivia.

— But the authority of this classification, which has continued for 170 years, has been shaken significantly only once. In 1976, a certain tasting was held in Paris. That judging, conducted with the wines’ origins concealed, would go on to redraw the world map of wine. Next time, the second installment of “The Story of the Bordeaux Châteaux” begins from that one day.

Read next: The Map of Wine (Wine Map, available now) / The Map of Japanese Alcohol (Master Map, available now)

Explore the Five First Growths

01Château Mouton Rothschild02Château Margaux03Château Latour04Château Lafite Rothschild05Château Haut-Brion