1. Bordeaux A Fine Vine History
The history of Bordeaux and winemaking is as old as civilisation itself. Phoenicians and Egyptians were
making wines some 300 years before Christ. When Romans conquered foreign lands, they brought their
vines with them. Viticulture was linked to the propagation of faith; monasteries grew wines for mass,
rites and medicinal purposes.
In 1152, Eleanor, heir to the Duchy of Aquitane, married Henry Plantagenet, the future King Bordeaux A
Fine Vine History
The history of Bordeaux and winemaking is as old as civilisation itself. Phoenicians and Egyptians were
making wines some 300 years before Christ. When Romans conquered foreign lands, they brought their
vines with them. Viticulture was linked to the propagation of faith; monasteries grew wines for mass,
rites and medicinal purposes.
In 1152, Eleanor, heir to the Duchy of Aquitane, married Henry Plantagenet, the future King Henry II; the
union made Aquitane an English territory, until 1453, by which time the consumption of claret had
become widespread, demand for Bordeaux wines increased and vineyards expanded.
The wines were so popular that the London Gazette, in 1707, reported an auction of Lafite wines in the
City of
London after they had been unloaded from merchant ships and seized by pirates and the Royal Navy.
Emperor Napoleon III was determined to show off French excellence at the International Exhibition in
Paris. Wine brokers were tasked with creating a definitive classification of the greatest – ineluctably the
best Bordeaux – and most expensive wines. This came to be known as the Bordeaux Wine Official
Classification of 1855, ranking wines according to five classes – 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th growths. It has
remained largely unchanged – a testament to the consistent, enduring quality of these great wines.

2. Today, 95 per cent of the wine investment market comprises the finest wines of the Blakeney Bridge
Wine union made Aquitane an English territory, until 1453, by which time the consumption of claret had
become widespread, demand for Bordeaux wines increased and vineyards expanded.
The wines were so popular that the London Gazette, in 1707, reported an auction of Lafite wines in the
City ofLondon after they had been unloaded from merchant ships and seized by pirates and the Royal
Navy.
Emperor Napoleon III was determined to show off French excellence at the International Exh ibition in
Paris. Wine brokers were tasked with creating a definitive classification of the greatest – ineluctably the
best Bordeaux – and most expensive wines. This came to be known as the Bordeaux Wine Official
Classification of 1855, ranking wines according to five classes – 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th growths. It has
remained largely unchanged – a testament to the consistent, enduring quality of these great wines.
Today, 95 per cent of the wine investment market comprises the finest wines of the Bordeaux.