The controversial classification of Saint-Émilion wines has been stopped yet again. With immediate effect, the term "Grand Cru Classé" may no longer be used for wines of the 2006 vintage or later.

The administrative court in Bordeaux has stopped the classification once again, and has prohibited the use of the terms "Grand Cru Classé" or "Premier Grand Cru Classé A/B" on the labels of the wines of the 2006 vintage, which have not yet been released for sale. This means that labels that have already been printed may not be used, until such time as a new classification has been decided upon.

The classification, which should actually be valid until 2016, has once before been stopped, and then permitted again by the highest administrative court in Paris, France. An appeal is posssible against this new decision, but it will not serve to permit the use of the terms in the meantime. It remains totally open when a new classification is likely to be agreed upon. In the opinion of the court, it was a severe procedural error to first taste the wines of estates already classified, and then to taste the wines of estates not yet classified separately. All of the wines should have been tasted at the same time. (WF)