A Bordeaux chateau goes up in smoke

Figuratively speaking. Chateau Labegorce Zédé (Médoc, Bordeaux) will cease to exist as a wine as of 2009. Both Labegorce Zédé and Chateau Labegorce are owned by the family of the deceased Hubert Perrodo. The two wines will now be combined and be sold under the label Chateau Labegorce. The family also owns the Chateau Marquis d’Alesme Becker. that wine will henceforth be sold under the label Chateau Marquis d’Alesme (without Becker). Some of the grapes from the Labegorce wines will in the future be used for the Marquis d’Alesme. This is quite interesting as an illustration of the fact that the chateau names in Bordeaux is really nothing else than wine brands. Provided the grapes come from the correct appellation (and even that with some flexibility sometimes) you can use them for whatever chateau wine you want. A consequence of this is of course that the classifications (e.g. the famous 1855 one) are really a classification of brands, nothing else. Interesting, isn’t it? www.decanter.com