Château Cheval Blanc and Château Ausone have not submitted an application for the 2022 Saint-Emilion classification Two First Great Growths classified A in the Saint-Emilion classification have chosen not to apply for the 2022 classification. Château Cheval Blanc and Château Ausone will therefore not be part of the next classification. Château Angélus has followed …

The director and technical director of Cheval Blanc, Pierre Lurton and Pierre-Olivier Clouet, justified this « heavy decision for the estate » by the fact that they « do not find themselves in the criteria of this classification ». « The evaluation grid is too far removed from what seems fundamental to us: the terroir, the wine, the history. Other secondary elements have taken on too much importance in the final score. However, the directors of Cheval Blanc intend to « remain the first ambassadors of the Saint-Emilion vineyard.

At Château Ausone, they acknowledge that they have had « reservations about this classification for a long time ». « The terroir and tasting part was too small compared to the reception or social networks, but for a wine like Ausone, it is fundamental, » explains Pauline Vauthier, who runs the estate. « This classification states that we should only judge wines over the last fifteen years, but it is over a much longer period of time that we should judge great wines.