Fifth Growth
Definition - What does Fifth Growth mean?
Fifth growth is part of the Bordeaux wine classification system that was established by the Official Bordeaux Wine Classification of 1855 to help differentiate the quality ranking of wines produced. The fifth growth is the lowest in the ranking system but has made strides in improving quality in recent years. Fifth growth Bordeaux also offers a more affordable alternative while still maintaining a higher quality standard than other appellations.
WineFrog explains Fifth Growth
The ranking system that divided the top wines from the lower grades was established in 1855 in the Bordeaux wine making region of France. The idea was that the first growth was the best and received the highest grade, whereas the fifth grade was the lowest.
Today, these classification systems do not accurately describe quality as much as they did before and the quality of the growth classification depends on the chateau. The fifth growth wines are still grown today in 18 out of the 61 chateaus in Bordeaux, and these wines are usually priced cheaper than the first through forth growths. The fifth growth wines recently have made the largest strides as far as improvement in their overall quality and offer an affordable accessibility to wines of the Bordeaux region.
