1855-classified Crus Classés aim to host “opening event” at Wine Paris

n 8 February 2026, the 54 Médoc and Sauternes Grands Crus Classés classified in 1855 will convene for the first time at the Paris Museum of Decorative Arts, ahead of Wine Paris, which takes place from 9 to 11 February at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre. This first, trade-only tasting aims to be the “opening event of Wine Paris 2026” and to “become a new annual gathering which is both inclusive and influential”. The overriding ambition is to raise the trade’s awareness of Bordeaux Crus and to support attendance by many Grands Crus negociants at Wine Paris.

The 1855 tasting is open to other wines by the classified properties. “Each property will present three wines: its Grand Vin in the 2020 vintage, another vintage of its choice and a complementary wine”, explains a press statement. “We have to expand our contacts and being in a historic venue is very befitting of the Grands Crus”, says Sylvain Boivert, director of the Conseil des Grands Crus Classés.

Necessity is the mother of invention and even the Grands Crus Classés have to innovate and galvanise their members into action in a bid to support sales negatively affected by a number of trends: the overall decline in wine consumption (impacting red Médoc wines and Sauternes sweets), global economic uncertainty that continues to weigh on exchange rates and cause geopolitical tension, and last year’s En Primeur campaign which failed to achieve the expected results, despite efforts to rein in prices and the quality of the wines.