Langtons to Launch Australia’s First Classification of International Wine

Australia’s fine wine authority is taking its trusted Classification global, ranking 160 international bottles from auction data to guide the country’s top collectors.

Langtons has revealed it will launch its inaugural Classification of International Wine in 2026, extending the methodology behind its long-running Classification of Australian Wine, a benchmark for the local fine wine market since 1990, to bottles from beyond Australia’s shores.

“Australian wine palates are diverse and ever-expanding, with international wines holding an established presence in the collections of the country’s top wine drinkers,” says Tamara Grischy, General Manager at Langtons.

“The Langtons Classification of International Wine will be a vital resource for these collectors by highlighting the finest global wines that drive the Australian auction market.”

Set to be unveiled in early August, the Classification will feature 160 wines drawn from top wine regions in France, Italy, New Zealand, the US, Spain, Portugal and Germany. As with its Australian counterpart, the list isn’t based on opinion, wine show medals or critic scores; it’s built entirely from data.

“We look at every bottle of wine internationally that’s sent into Langtons and all its data. This includes aspects such as a wine’s previous bidding history; its clearance rate; and changes to its current value versus when the wine was bought,” said Michael Anderson, Head of Auctions at Langtons.

The dataset spans five years of secondary market auction activity across every international bottle traded through Langtons.

Anderson says the inaugural list will mix hard-to-find cult classics with established titans of the fine wine trade, and hints that some expected names may be notably absent from this first edition.

Scarcity, he explains, plays a significant role in the methodology: wines produced in tiny volumes rarely come up for sale, which limits the auction data available to include them.

“Just because a wine might not be on this first edition of the Classification of International Wine doesn’t mean it won’t be in the future,” he says.

The Classification will also create a new benchmarking opportunity for Australian wine. Anderson points to bottles such as Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir and Henschke Hill of Grace — both First Classified wines in the Langtons Classification of Australian Wine — as capable of standing alongside the great names of Burgundy, Bordeaux and Tuscany.

“This Classification will be a trusted tool to compare wines to see how incredible the quality of our Australian wines are,” he says. “After all, Langtons was founded on the belief that the best Australian wines have a place at the world’s top tables.”

The Langtons Classifications draw their inspiration from the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, which ranked wines from first to fifth growth largely on selling history.

Unlike the Australian Classification, which includes both a Classified tier and a smaller First Classified tier, every wine in the new international list will sit under a single Classified category.

The most recent, 8th edition of the Langtons Classification of Australian Wine, released in late 2023, was widely described as a shake-up of the guide, with a large influx of cool-climate styles such as Tasmanian Pinot Noir and Yarra Valley Chardonnay reflecting growing Australian demand for lighter, more elegant wines.

The full Langtons Classification of International Wine will be unveiled in August via langtons.com.au.