BORDEAUX’s travails know no end. Having suffered, along with other regions, serious frost damage to vines after three nights of sub-zero temperatures in April, followed by unusually high temperatures in late August that brought forward the harvest leading to reduced yields, the Bordelais are now embroiled in allegations of corruption, conspiracy and collusion – again. The trial last month of two major players in the Bordeaux wine trade has raised questions not only about personal integrity and skulduggery but also about the usefulness of the Byzantine classification systems, originating in 1855 under Napoleon III.

Allegations of “dirty tricks” during the 2012 reclassification of the Grand Cru wines in Saint-Emilion have also revealed how vast are the fortunes to be made and lost by changed rankings. The owners of three châteaux that were declassified in 2012 allege that the two individuals, who deny all charges, conspired to promote a château co-owned by one of them (no less than Château Angélus) and eight other less famous châteaux, for which the other acted as consultant.