Cru Bourgeois

The Cru Bourgeois classification lists some of the châteaux from the Médoc that were not included in the 1855 Classification of Crus Classés, or Classed Growths. Notionally, Cru Bourgeois is a level below Cru Classé, but still of high quality (formerly there were additional grades of Cru Artisan and Cru Paysan). Many wine writers consider that there is some overlap in quality between the Classed Growths and the Cru Bourgeois, although also saying that by and large the Classed Growths still represent the best wines.

The first Cru Bourgeois list was drawn up by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and Chamber of Agriculture in 1932, selecting 444 estates for the classification. The words Cru Bourgeois were widely used on labels by the châteaux so listed, although the classification was never officially ratified. A substantial revision of the classification, dividing it into three tiers, was initiated in 2000 and finalised in 2003. This reduced the number of châteaux listed to 247. Following several legal turns, the 2003 Cru Bourgeois classification was annulled by the French court in 2007, and shortly afterwards all use of the term was banned.

In 2010, the Cru Bourgeois label was reintroduced, but in a significantly revised form. It now consists of only one level, and is awarded annually, as a mark of quality, to wines rather than to châteaux, on the basis of an assessment of both production methods and the finished product. Any property in the Médoc may apply. The lists are published approximately 2 years after the vintage, so the 2008 list was published in 2010, and the 2009 list was published in 2011. The 2009 list includes 246 wines.

The 2003 Cru Bourgeois classification (annulled in 2007) classified 247 properties in three tiers: Exceptionnel (9 properties), Supérieurs (87 properties) and straight Bourgeois (151 properties). The Crus Bourgeois Exceptionnels are listed in the following table, for historical interest:

Note that some very highly regarded wines outside the 1855 classification such as Château Gloria and Château Sociando-Mallet did not apply for classification.

There was considerable controversy regarding the 2003 classification. 77 châteaux which had been included in the 1932 list lost their Cru Bourgeois status. Many proprieters were unhappy, either because they had been excluded entirely, or because they had been included at a lower level than they had expected. Over 70 producers applied to court to contest their exclusion from the new ranking, and in 2004 the court voided their rankings, requiring them to be reassessed, but otherwise upheld the new system. However, in February 2007, Bordeaux magistrate Jean-Pierre Valeins, having found that the classification was 'not impartial' and 'tainted with illegality', annulled the 2003 revision, following an appeal by dissatisfied producers, led by Denis Hecquet, president of the Médoc winegrowers' union. In essence the court ruled that four of the panel had conflicting interests, as owners of relevant wineries, and could not be seen as independent. At this point, the 1932 classification was briefly reinstated, with its single tier and 444 estates.

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