Crus Bourgeois du Médoc implements new classification

By Lisa Riley

Published: 20 February, 2020

Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc has implemented its new five-year, three-tier classification system.

The new classification, announced in September 2018, reintroduces a hierarchical structure with three levels: Cru Bourgeois, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur and Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, and moves away from the previous annual quality assessment procedure.

Of the 249 Châteaux included in the new classification, which marks a return to the original Crus Bourgeois du Médoc system which for centuries operated on a hierarchical basis, 179 are classified Crus Bourgeois, 56 Crus Bourgeois Supérieurs and 14 Crus Bourgeois Exceptionnels.

The first classification will feature on the labels of the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 vintages.

Based on a schedule of requirements and a “rigorous verification procedure”, the entire classification process is overseen by an independent verification body to ensure a “fair and honest ranking”, with impartiality ensured at all stages.

Blind tasting of five vintages is the first criteria on which properties applying for classification are judged, with different requirements for each level.

The higher categories of Cru Bourgeois Supérieur and Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel are assessed on two main additional sets of criteria: the technical management of the vineyard and the marketing and promotion of the property.

The classification also includes environmental criteria: depending on the classification level, properties must have or be in the process of obtaining level 2 High Environmental Value certification.

“Clear, impartial and objective”, the new classification would enable consumers to buy Crus Bourgeois with “complete confidence”, said Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc.

Almost l0 years of preparation and consultation had been necessary to obtain consent from the public authorities for the creation of the new classification, which “recognizes the quality of winegrowers' work and gives them a longer-term view of their property's wine, thereby facilitating projects and investments”, said Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc.

For consumers, the classification was “a guarantee of quality that enables them to choose a Cru Bourgeois in complete confidence”, it added.

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