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The Bordeaux Appellation System: 1 Region, 100 Confusions

The Bordeaux Appellation System: 1 Region, 100 Confusions

Introduction

Bordeaux is perhaps the first French wine region that wine lovers usually approach. It’s six times bigger than Napa Valley and around four times bigger than Burgundy. So the production is massive and you can find Bordeaux wines in every wine shop, grocery, or even convenience store. Picking up an outstanding bottle without hurting your pocket requires time and knowledge. As the Appellation system here doesn’t necessarily reflect the quality of the wines like, let’s say, it does in Burgundy.

The Appellation system in Burgundy includes a hierarchy of vineyards based on their Terroirs. So it gives you a clue of what’s a high-quality wine and what isn’t. On top of it, prices speak themselves. A Grand Cru will always (or almost) be more expensive than a Premier Cru. This doesn’t happen in Bordeaux where a Premier Cru (First Growth) might be more affordable than a Deuxième Cru (Second Growth).

So, how can we choose a good bottle in terms of value for money? Well, there isn’t a rule of thumb, unfortunately. But knowing the Bordeaux’s classifications, their history, and rules will help you make the best purchase (and save money!) for sure.

Are you ready to dive into an Ocean of wine based on Bordeaux Blends? Join us then and you will discover it as you have never done before!

The Five Bordeaux’s Wine Classifications

You might think that the first classification system was born here in Bordeaux. Well, we thought the same, since the concept of classification has been introduced in 1855 under Napoleon III. This was called the Grand Cru Classé. However, the vineyards of Tokaj, in Hungary, were the first in the world to be classified according to their quality. About a century and a half before Bordeaux 1855’s classification, Prince Rákóczi issued a royal decree ranking the quality of their wines using the Latin designation “Primae Classis”, “Secundae Classis” and so on. And of course, the quality of a “Primae Classis” was higher than a “Secundae Classis”.

The philosophy of the Cru Classés (Classified Growths) perfectly reflects the synthesis of Terroir’s characteristics and dedicated human work over generations. But what we want to highlight is that a wine can be outstanding even though it doesn’t belong to this classification.

There are five classidfications in Gironde:

  • The 1855 Classification;
  • The Graves Classification;
  • The Saint-Émilion Classification;
  • The Cru Bourgeois du Médoc Classification;
  • The Cru Artisans;
Figure 1: Some dusty bottles from Bordeaux (rocketwinesint.com, 2020)

The 1855 Classification

Since the main goal here is to give you an overview of all the Bordeaux’s Classifications in place today, we won’t discuss in-depth how the 1855’s Classification system was born.

Long story short, Napoleon III asked for a presentation of the best Gironde’s wines, which should have been presented at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. The Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, founded in 1705, entrusted the hard duty to the “Syndicat des Courtiers de Commerce“. They were brokers on the Bordeaux stock exchange.

Published on 18 April 1855, the Classification was the summit of market reality and evolution going on for more than a century. This classification was based on the reputation of the wines and their transaction prices. In other words, unlike the classification of Burgundy based on the vineyards’ sites and selection, the 1855 classification was based on how much noteworthy wines sold for, categorizing the top Châteaus into 5 cru groups from 1st to 5th growths.

Once set, the intention was to never change it. In fact, there is only one Château that has been upgraded from 2nd to 1st growth status since the classification was created: Château Mouton Rothschild. This important fact happened in 1973.

The Classification included only red wines from the Médoc and one from Graves (Château Haut-Brion), and the Sauternes and Barsac sweet white wines.

The categories were divided into red and sweet white wines.

Red Wines

They include 60 Crus from the Médoc and 1 Premier Cru from Pessac-Léognan (Château Haut-Brion) based on five categories:

  • 5 Premiers Crus;
  • 14 Deuxièmes Crus;
  • 15 Troisièmes Crus;
  • 10 Quatrièmes Crus;
  • 18 Cinquièmes Crus;

The most important thing to highlight here is that a Troisième Cru like Château Palmer could be as expensive and sought-after as a Premier Cru.

Sweet White Wines

The list includes 27 Crus of the Sauternes and Barsac Appellations, divided as follow:

  • 1 Premier Cru Supérieur;
  • 11 Premier Crus;
  • 15 Deuxièmes Crus;

Apart from Sauternes and Barsac that are the best sweet wine-producing communes, you can still drink opulent botrytized wines in the communes of Bommes, Fargues, and Preignac.

Figure 2: A bright golden bottle of the prestigious Château d’Yquem (finewinesinternational.com, 2020)

The Graves Classification

Graves was recognized for its superior quality wines back to the 17th century. Its Grands Crus were the first great wines of Bordeaux. The Crus Classés de Graves has passed on a tradition of excellence for over 2,000 years.

It’s this culture of excellence that in 1953 was officially recognized by a jury of professionals, assembled by the “Istitut National des Appellations d’Origine” (INAO). The INAO enacted the new Graves classification for red and white wines.

The Crus Classés de Graves are 16 prestigious estates that were classified as Great Growths in 1953 (and then in 1959). They have a distinct reputation for producing both red and white. One of which is the well-known Château Haut-Brion that was classified as Premier Cru in 1855.

The criteria behind the classification were the municipality and the wine type (red or white).

Today there are 16 Grands Crus and all of which belong to the AOC Pessac-Léognan. They are 7 reds, 3 whites, 6 reds and whites.

Keep in mind that Château Haut-Brion appears in both the Graves classification and the 1855 Grands Crus Classés.

Saint-Émilion Classification

Issued under the authority of INAO in 1955, this classification aims at keeping the reputation of Saint-Émilion wines as high as possible across the world. It’s the most strict classification in place in Bordeaux because it must be revised every ten years. So the Saint-Émilion wine classification is the only one to challenge itself every ten years. And, why do they do that? They do it to inspire local winemakers to tirelessly seek excellence.

The classification system in place is the most modern and progressive within Bordeaux (and maybe in the entire world). Considering that the last Saint-Émilion classification has been realized in 2012, we expect that we will have to study it again in 2022. But we’ll be happy to do it and give you the last updates!

The 2012 classification lists 82 estates.

  • Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé (64);
  • Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé (18);
  • Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé A: 4 out of 18 Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé were recognized higher in quality and stood out from the others. They are the famous Château Cheval Blanc, Château Ausone, Château Angélus, and Château Pavie;
Figure 3: A foggy picture showing the vineyards of Château Angélus (blog.millesima.co.uk, 2017)

Do you want to know how the 18 Premier Grand Cru Classé wines managed to obtain the highest title in the meticulous hierarchy of Saint-Émilion? Here how it went… The candidates with a final score higher or equal to 14 out of 20 were classified as Grand Cru Classé. Only then, they were able to apply for the Premier Grand Cru Classé title. But to achieve it they had to be assessed again to reach a score of at least 16 out of 20. Just 18 Château obtained the Premier Grand Cru Classé title in 2012.

The Cru Bourgeois du Médoc Classification

The term Cru Bourgeois appears for the first time in the Middle Ages, when the citizens (Bourgeois), residents of the “burgh” (bourg) of Bordeaux, acquired the region’s best lands and were granted this designation.

An important year to keep in mind when it comes to this classification is 1932. The Crus Bourgeois were grouped in a list by the Bordeaux wine merchants under the aegis of the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and the Gironde Chamber of Agriculture.

The AOC Cru Bourgeois du Médoc is based on the quality and the value of red wines produced in one of the eight Médoc Appellations: Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac, Moulis, Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac, and Saint-Estèphe.

From the lowest to the highest in terms of quality, this is the AOC Cru Bourgeois du Médoc:

  • Cru Bourgeois (179 Château);
  • Cru Bourgeois Supérieur (56);
  • Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel (14);

With its 4,400 ha, this Appellation accounts for 27,5% of the surface planted with vineyards in Médoc. 28 million bottles make this Appellation account for 40% of the Médoc’s production. Every year between 240 and 260 properties form the “Alliance des Crus Bourgeois“.

The Cru Artisans

During the 17th century, the notion of Crus appeared for the first time in Bordeaux. In Médoc, the name Cru Artisans has been existing for more than 150 years.

In 1989, winegrowers in Médoc founded the Syndicate of the Crus Artisans. Its main goal was to group “small and medium-sized autonomous farms where the manager effectively participates in the work of its vineyard, produced AOC wines, and markets its estate bottle production”.

In June 1994, the Europian Union allowed the designation Cru Artisans to appear on the label considering the high-quality of their wines.

Some forty estates may now use the term Cru Artisans and have the exclusive right to do so. The wineries are indicated in the French official journal and the last one released was in 2012. This list is reviewed every five years to confirm the quality of the Crus Artisans and to allow other estates to join the prestigious Cru.

All of them have one thing in common: the owners, who are artisan winemakers, take care of the entire production chain.

Today the AOC Cru Artisans du Médoc counts 36 small estates. Its criteria is based on the quality and the value of wines produced in small properties in one of the eight Médoc Appellations: Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac, Moulis, Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac, and Saint-Estèphe.

Figure 4: The Artisans’ hands carefully handling a cluster of grapes (vinumhotels.com, 2020)

Conclusions

As we saw, Bordeaux isn’t just about the left and right banks. Unfortunately, that’s just the beginning of a bumpy and challenging path that every Sommelier has to undertake when it comes to Bordeaux. There are tons of different Château and therefore remembering them all is almost impossible. On top of it, good Bordeaux’s wines are for many of us unaffordable. Remembering labels and classifications is particularly difficult if you can’t even taste the bottles. This means that many of us get discouraged when they realize that the average price to spend for a good bottle of Bordeaux might be too high.

But professional Sommeliers must be knowledgable about Bordeaux. No matter where they come from and whether or not they can afford its expensive wines. Would your guests, friends, or whoever trust you if you didn’t even know the four Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé A.

Everyone would forgive you if you didn’t know that Saint-Bris is the only place where you can drink a Sauvignon Blanc within Burgundy. But no one would be so kind if you didn’t know the only grape variety allowed to make the well-known Château Pétrus.

So, do a favor to yourself and start learning everything about Bordeaux, starting from its classifications.

You’ll need to read the article over and over again until you start familiarizing yourself with the five different classifications and the type of wine they include. Remembering the criteria of these classifications is pivotal as it will perhaps justify the stellar prices of high-quality Bordeaux blends.

With this article, we gave you a Lamborghini. It’s down to you to win the race now. Good luck!!!


References

Lawther J., Bettane M., Dessauve Th., Johnson H. (2009), The Heart Of Bordeaux, Stewart, Tabori & Chang New York, 2009;

Rey D., Jamin G. (2015), Bordeaux Collection: Crus Classés de Graves et Chateaux de Pessac-Léognan, Editions d’Autils, 2015;


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