The owner of Ch\u00e2teau Pavie, G\u00e9rard Perse, was "overwhelmed with emotion" at the confirmation of the promotion of his estate to the rank of Saint-\u00c9milion Premier Grand Cru Class\u00e9 A.<\/p>\n
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Ch\u00e2teau Pavie and Ch\u00e2teau Ang\u00e9lus thus join Ch\u00e2teau Cheval Blanc and Ch\u00e2teau Ausone at the top of this new classification of Saint-\u00c9milion.<\/p>\n
This ranking has had to face serious controversies since the legal attacks undertaken against its 2006 edition.
\nThe complete classification is unveiled today in Paris by the appellations commission, the INAO (National Institute of Origin and Quality), but official letters have arrived at the ch\u00e2teaux this morning.<\/p>\n
Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Quenin, president of the Conseil des Vins de Saint-\u00c9milion and owner of Ch\u00e2teau Pressac (promoted from Grand Cru to Grand Cru Class\u00e9) told Decanter.com that the process to restore the reputation of the system is paying off.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome thought we would never get there. I became president in 2008, two years after the first legal attacks on the latest ranking. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u201cI imagine there will be some disappointed people, but the idea of a ranking allows everyone to hope that their work will be rewarded. \u00bb<\/p>\n
Angelus director St\u00e9phanie de Bo\u00fcard-Rivoal confirmed the promotion and paid tribute to the work of her father, owner Hubert de Bo\u00fcard, and her uncle Jean-Bernard Greni\u00e9. Their official statement is expected after the INAO meeting.<\/p>\n
G\u00e9rard Perse, owner of Ch\u00e2teau Pavie, said: \u201cAs soon as I heard the news, I was overwhelmed with emotion. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u201cI am delighted and proud to have invested in such a courageous appellation as Saint-\u00c9milion, which challenges itself every decade through this ranking,\u201d he told Decanter.com.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey showed courage by promoting two ch\u00e2teaux to the rank of Premier Grand Cru Class\u00e9 A, for the first time in 50 years. But it seems justified that Saint-\u00c9milion has as many Premiers Grands Crus as the M\u00e9doc. \u00bb<\/p>\n
Among the other domains promoted are the Ch\u00e2teaux Canon La Gaffeli\u00e8re and La Mondotte, both now Premiers Grands Crus Class\u00e9s.<\/p>\n
96 ch\u00e2teaux applied for this 2012 classification. Ch\u00e2teau Valandraud also went from Grand Cru Class\u00e9 to Grand Cru Class\u00e9 B, and Ch\u00e2teaux La Fleur Morange, Fombrauge, de Ferrand, Faug\u00e8res and P\u00e9by Faug\u00e8res from Grand Cru to Grand Cru Class\u00e9 .<\/p>\n
It's hard to confirm the downgrades until the full list is made public. All areas that were to lose their ranking or whose applications were incomplete were invited to initiate a consultation procedure with the INAO, in an attempt to maintain their status.<\/p>\n
According to Robert Tinlot, the chairman of the classification commission, 36 of these \u201cwarning\u201d letters were sent.<\/p>\n
In total, of the 96 files submitted, one was immediately rejected, 83 were accepted and 12 estates were downgraded or did not receive Grand Cru Class\u00e9 status.Chateau Pavie and Chateau Angelus are to join Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau Ausone at the top of this new Saint Emilion classification.<\/p>\n