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Cru Bourgeois Classification

A response to the hardship of the years following the Great War, the first ever classification of the Cru Bourgeois properties of the Médoc was drawn up by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and Chamber of Agriculture in 1932. Together they bestowed the accolade on 444 properties, and it graced the labels of these wines for more than six decades, even though the system was never officially ratified by the Agriculture Ministry.

As the end of the 20th century neared, and the popularity and reputation of a number of the Cru Bourgeois properties grew, it became apparent that a more regulated classification was required. On November 30th, 2000 a ministerial decree laid out the framework for a new classification, and this was subsequently drawn up and ratified by a subsequent decree on June 17th, 2003. Of 490 châteaux that submitted to the new classification, however, only 247 were included, a significant contraction of the original listing made in 1932. They were divided into three tiers, headed up by Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel (the best wines, with just nine châteaux on this rung), followed by Cru Bourgeois Supérieur (87 properties) and then the standard Cru Bourgeois estates (151 properties). Admirably, there was a plan to review the ranking every 12 years.

This classification resulted in some controversy; as might be expected, a number of proprietors were displeased to discover that their property had not been included, or had been included at a lower than expected level. The classification was based on an assessment of the wines produced from 1994 to 1999 (as well as other nebulous aspects such as terroir), so owners of recently purchased châteaux may have received an unfair classification based on the performances of their predecessors. In addition, some châteaux have been listed twice, classified for both first and second wines, a strange anomaly.

In 2004 a regional court in Bordeaux sided with over 70 complainants against the system, concluding that their rankings within the new classification were void, but otherwise the court felt the new listing remained valid. In 2005 the Administrative Tribunal in Bordeaux upheld this decision, and so it seemed as though the reclassification would stand. But this was not to be; in early 2007 the Cru Bourgeois applecart was truly upset when Bordeaux magistrate Jean-Pierre Valeins concluded in his court that the classification was tainted by partiality, noting that four of the 18 members of the selection panel had business dealings with a number of the classified properties. The court went on to annul the whole classification, stripping the higher-ranked properties (such as Ormes de Pez, right) of their new Exceptionnel and Supérieur titles, leaving them all with their unratified 1932 Cru Bourgeois rankings.

The Bordeaux viticulteurs clearly needed rescuing from this maelstrom and the resolution came surprisingly swiftly, although it indicated that the way forward would clearly not be an easy one. No-one could have foreseen when the first plans for the revision were laid out in 2000 that the end result of the process would be use of the phrase "cru bourgeois" on the label being declared illegal, but that was exactly what happened. In July 2007 the annulment was confirmed as permanent, and the French fraud office outlawed that very phrase - although it was not clear to me whether this would begin with the 2007 vintage or to an earlier one. The Alliance des Crus Bourgeois held a specially convened meeting that month, and a motion to introduce the term Label Cru Bourgeois as a mark of quality rather than a classification was introduced. So the term still exists, but now it means something quite different. It should also be noted that there is no internal ranking - neither exceptionnel nor supérieur - as there was in 2003.

The new designation will be awarded with the following basis:

• Cru Bourgeois is a designation of quality only
• The right to use the term is based on production methods, as judged by a visit to the property, and results, determined by tasting of the wine
• It is an annual qualification, awarded by an independent organisation
• The qualification may be obtained by any property in the Médoc

Further meetings of the Alliance in 2008 seemed to ratify the process as above, with nearly 300 estates opting in to this new, annually-awarded accolade. Any estate with at least 7 hectares in the Haut-Médoc or 4 hectares in one of the communal appellations such as Pauillac would eligible to apply. There were some doubts, especially as the new award included stipulated barrel and vat capacities, which meant that some estates would need to make new and significant investments before qualifying. Nevertheless, on the whole, it appeared that the producers were moving forward together in a very positive fashion, and it was anticipated that this new seal of quality would first appear with the 2007 vintage, the decisions as to which estates - or rather which wines - had qualified for the cru bourgeois designation to be released just before the bottling in 2009. By mid-2009, however, this was looking less likely, and the system only became fully operational with the 2008 vintage, assessed by tasting panel in early 2010.

Although it is now the relevant sélection officielle that we should refer to, a listing that will change with each vintage and details of which can be found linked in the box above right, for historical reasons it is worthwhile maintaining some record of the 2003 version of the classification I think. This is presented below.

The 2003 Classification (Annulled)

Nine properties led the classification at the exceptionnel level. Keen eyed readers will note the absence of Sociando-Mallet, a favourite Cru Bourgeois property with many, thanks to the supreme quality of its wine. The proprietor, Jean Gautreau, did not consider his wine to need any further classification to sell and thus he did not put Sociando-Mallet forward for inclusion in the new classification. In view of the furore that the doomed classification then engendered, he made a wise decision, I think. There were some excellent properties included at the supérieur level, but even on the lowest rung good value could be found.