What Are the First Growths of Bordeaux?

Ask any wine collector to name the most prestigious wines in Bordeaux and five names come up almost immediately: Lafite, Latour, Margaux, Mouton-Rothschild, and Haut-Brion. These are the First Growths — Premiers Crus — the top tier of the 1855 Classification and the benchmark against which every other Bordeaux estate has been measured for over 170 years.

The short answer: the First Growths are five estates that were ranked at the top of the 1855 Classification of the Médoc and Graves, a ranking that has remained essentially unchanged ever since. They represent the pinnacle of Left Bank Bordeaux — Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant wines built on gravel soils, designed for extraordinary longevity, and priced accordingly.

But the five estates are far from identical. Each has its own terroir, its own style, and its own story. Here's what sets them apart.

What Does "First Growth" Actually Mean?

"First Growth" is the English translation of Premier Cru, the top tier of the 1855 Classification — a ranking commissioned for the Paris World's Fair to showcase Bordeaux's finest wines to international buyers. Brokers ranked the top estates of the Médoc (plus one estate from Graves) into five tiers, based primarily on the prices their wines had commanded over the preceding decades.

Four estates were named First Growths in 1855: Château Lafite, Château Latour, Château Margaux, and Château Haut-Brion. A fifth, Château Mouton-Rothschild, was promoted from Second Growth to First Growth in 1973 — the only change to the original five tiers in the classification's entire history. That promotion took 21 years of lobbying by Baron Philippe de Rothschild and remains the exception that proves how rigid the system otherwise is.

Together, these five estates represent the most consistent, most collected, and most expensive wines to come out of Bordeaux's Left Bank.

The Five First Growths

Château Lafite Rothschild

Located in Pauillac, Château Lafite is often described as the most "cerebral" of the First Growths — elegant, perfumed, and built around finesse rather than raw power. The vineyard sits on gravel soils over limestone, and the blend is typically dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller proportions of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.

Lafite's style favors aromatic complexity and silky tannins over sheer concentration, and the wines often need significant time to show their full character. A great vintage of Lafite, given 20-30 years, develops a perfumed complexity — cedar, graphite, violets, dark cherry — that's instantly recognizable to those who know the estate.

Château Latour

Also in Pauillac, Château Latour sits at the opposite end of the stylistic spectrum from Lafite: powerful, structured, and built with a density that can feel almost uncompromising in youth. The vineyard's gravel terroir, particularly the famous L'Enclos parcel surrounding the estate's iconic tower, produces wines with extraordinary tannic backbone.

Latour is the textbook example of a wine that rewards extreme patience. Young vintages can be tightly wound for decades, but the payoff is wines that develop layers of cedar, tobacco, and dark fruit over 30, 40, even 50+ years. Our piece on 1996 Château Latour explores exactly this arc — a vintage that needed three decades to begin showing what it's capable of.

Château Margaux

The only First Growth in the commune of Margaux, Château Margaux is often called the most "feminine" of the five — a wine of extraordinary perfume, elegance, and finesse rather than sheer power. The estate's gravel soils, some of the deepest in the Médoc, produce wines with a silkiness that's distinctive even among First Growths.

Margaux also produces a celebrated dry white wine, Pavillon Blanc, made entirely from Sauvignon Blanc — unusual for a Médoc estate and a reflection of the property's broader ambitions. Our piece on 1988 Château Margaux looks at a vintage now fully mature and showing exactly the elegance the estate is known for.

Château Mouton-Rothschild

The newest member of the group, promoted to First Growth status in 1973, Mouton-Rothschild sits in Pauillac alongside Lafite and Latour. Mouton is known for a particularly aromatic, exotic style — often showing notes of cassis, cedar, and a distinctive spice that sets it apart from its Pauillac neighbors.

Mouton is also famous for commissioning a different artist to design its label every year since 1945, a tradition that has made the estate as significant culturally as it is in the glass. Baron Philippe de Rothschild's decades-long campaign to elevate Mouton to First Growth status is one of the most well-documented stories in Bordeaux history, and the 1973 promotion remains the only change ever made to the 1855 Classification's top tier.

Château Haut-Brion

The outlier of the group, Château Haut-Brion sits in Graves, geographically separate from the Médoc estates that dominate the rest of the classification. Haut-Brion's inclusion in 1855 was never in question — the estate had been famous for centuries by that point, predating the other four as an internationally recognized name.

Haut-Brion's terroir, gravel over a unique subsoil, produces wines with an earthy, smoky, almost mineral quality that distinguishes it from the Pauillac and Margaux estates. The property also produces a small amount of white wine, Haut-Brion Blanc, considered one of the great white wines of Bordeaux. Our piece on 2012 Château Haut-Brion Blanc explores this rarer side of the estate.

First Growths at a Glance

Why the 1855 Classification Still Matters

For a ranking system created nearly 170 years ago based on prices from decades before that, the 1855 Classification has proven remarkably durable. Critics have long pointed out that some Second and Third Growths now produce wine that rivals the First Growths in quality, and that the classification reflects 19th-century market conditions more than 21st-century reality.

And yet the First Growths remain the First Growths. Part of this is genuine continued excellence — these five estates have the resources, the land, and the institutional knowledge to maintain extraordinary standards across decades and difficult vintages alike. Part of it is simply momentum: the classification created a hierarchy of prestige that has become self-reinforcing, with collector demand, auction records, and cultural cachet all flowing toward the same five names for generation after generation.

Understanding this dynamic matters for collectors. The First Growths will always command a premium — that premium is part of what they are. But it also means that exceptional wine exists below the First Growth tier at significantly more accessible prices, for those willing to look past the five most famous names in Bordeaux.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What are the five First Growths of Bordeaux?

The five First Growths are Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Latour, and Château Mouton-Rothschild (all in Pauillac), Château Margaux (in the commune of Margaux), and Château Haut-Brion (in Graves). Four were named First Growths in the original 1855 Classification, with Mouton-Rothschild promoted from Second Growth in 1973 — the only change ever made to the classification's top tier.

What makes a wine a "First Growth"?

"First Growth" refers to Premier Cru status in the 1855 Classification of Bordeaux, the top tier of a ranking system created for the 1855 Paris World's Fair. The classification ranked estates primarily based on the prices their wines had commanded over preceding decades. First Growth status has remained largely fixed since 1855, with only one change in over 170 years.

Are First Growth wines always Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant?

Yes, all five First Growths are located on the Left Bank, where Cabernet Sauvignon typically dominates the blend, usually complemented by Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and sometimes small amounts of Petit Verdot. This is a defining characteristic of Left Bank Bordeaux generally and distinguishes First Growth wines from Right Bank estates like Pétrus or Le Pin, which are Merlot-dominant.

How did Mouton-Rothschild become a First Growth?

Mouton-Rothschild was originally classified as a Second Growth in 1855. Baron Philippe de Rothschild campaigned for over two decades to have the estate elevated, arguing that its quality had long matched that of the First Growths. In 1973, Mouton-Rothschild was officially promoted to First Growth status — the only change ever made to the top tier of the 1855 Classification.

Why is Château Haut-Brion in Graves and not the Médoc?

Haut-Brion is geographically located in the Graves region, south of the Médoc, but was included in the 1855 Classification because of its long-established international reputation, which predated even the Médoc estates' fame by centuries. Its inclusion was never controversial despite the geographic difference, and it remains the only First Growth outside the Médoc.

Do First Growth wines need a long time to age?

Generally, yes, though the timeline varies by estate and vintage. Latour in particular is known for needing decades to show its full character, while Margaux and Lafite tend toward earlier accessibility relative to their peers without sacrificing long-term potential. All five estates produce wines capable of aging 30-50+ years in great vintages, and most serious collectors cellar First Growths for at least 15-20 years before opening.

How do First Growth prices compare to other top Bordeaux?

First Growth prices typically represent a significant premium over even excellent Second and Third Growth estates, despite quality differences in great vintages sometimes being marginal. This premium reflects both the genuine consistency of the First Growths across difficult vintages and the cultural prestige built up over 170 years of unchanged classification status.

Build a Cellar Anchored by the Five

At Weekend Wine, we carry First Growth Bordeaux from vintages spanning decades — wines that represent the benchmark of Left Bank Bordeaux and the foundation of any serious cellar. Everything is sourced through trusted relationships with verified provenance.

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