On February 10, 2025, in the context of the professional wine exhibition Wine Paris Vinexpo 2025, the Crus Bourgeois of Médoc published the second, revised classification of chateaux since 2020. The official list of 2020 included 250 estates, in 2025 – 170. Note that the number of cru bourgeois depends not only on the quality of the wines (moreover, one of the principles of cru bourgeois is a guarantee of the consistency of good quality of wines and the desire to improve it), but also on how many châteaux applied for the acquisition and renewal of the status.
Historical background reminder
In the Middle Ages, when the city of Bordeaux was in the possession of the English crown, its wine merchants selling the wine produced from their own vineyards on the local market, as well as on the export, were exempt from taxes and duties on their activities. This privilege significantly strengthened the well-being of these “bourgeois” (“citizens”, which comes from the word “bourg”, “city”), and they could afford to buy the best plots of the Médoc region from the 15th century, which acquired the name “cru bourgeois”. Their first classification, or rather a list of prices, was drawn up by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce (Chambre de Commerce de Bordeaux). By the 19th century, a hierarchy was gradually established, and in the form of a publication numbering 248 châteaux, divided into three categories, it appeared in 1858, thanks to Monsieur d’Armailhac.
The first official classification, numbering 444 châteaux, was drawn up in 1932 by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and the agricultural department of Gironde. Although it was never confirmed by the Ministry, it was still referred to.
In 1962, the Cru Bourgeois Syndicate was created, and in 1979, the Cru Bourgeois status was recognized by the French government, which gave estates the right to indicate it on wine labels.
The first official classification with three levels included 247 châteaux (151 Cru Bourgeois, 87 Cru Bourgeois Supérieur and 9 Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel), selected from 490 candidates, and was supposed to appear in 2003, but was annulled by the Bordeaux Administrative Court of Appeal. The reason for this was that it was contested by several estates that were not included in the classification, who referred to its possible bias and the fact that the then President of the Cru Bourgeois Syndicate was on the commission. To ensure that the concept and classification of “cru bourgeois” did not disappear after the trial, the Syndicate took steps to establish clear quality criteria and classification principles, which were officially enshrined in November 2009.
In September 2010, after the criteria had been finally approved, the first cru bourgeois classification was published for the 2008 vintage. And this principle of a single classification of one, rather than three, levels was followed until September 2019, and was revised every year.
However, in 2016, the issue of returning to the historical three levels of Cru Bourgeois was raised again at the General Assembly of the Syndicate, and a majority of votes were taken to revise the criteria and distribute candidate châteaux into three levels of cru bourgeois. The first classification included 250 chateaux (179 Cru Bourgeois, 56 Crus Bourgeois Supérieurs and 14 Crus Bourgeois Exceptionnels) and was established from 2018 to 2022 (i.e. the chateaux included in it could already indicate the status they had received on bottles from 2018).
On February 10, 2025, the Crus Bourgeois officially presented a new classification of 170 chateaux (120 Cru Bourgeois, 36 Crus Bourgeois Supérieurs and 14 Crus Bourgeois Exceptionnels).
Criteria of the three levels of classification
The most important and decisive of these is the quality of the wine, the analysis of its organoleptic profile and its potential for aging (based on a tasting of wines from five vintages), which is carried out by an independent jury of at least six experts. Compliance with this is sufficient to obtain the status of “cru bourgeois”. If a château aspires to higher levels in the hierarchy, then not only its wine, but also its vineyard and winery must additionally meet the following criteria:
- Vineyard and viticulture technologies must comply with the HVE classifications of level 2 or 3 (Haute Valeur Environnementale, high ecological value)
- The state of the winery, the technologies used from grape harvesting to bottling, which plays an important role in the quality of the product (the state of the production infrastructure, winemaking methods, aging and storage of wine…)
- infrastructure: historic buildings and their condition, enotourism offers, conditions for visitors (both for professionals and for the general public), distribution method, place at the national and international level
Once the classification results are announced, at least two of the five vintages under this status (i.e. in the future, until the next classification in 5 years) are subject to quality control checks.
Cru Bourgeois Classification: Basic Provisions and Conclusion
The main goal of the Cru Bourgeois classification is not only to guarantee the quality and authenticity of the wines, but also the collective desire of all the châteaux included in it to maintain this quality, the reputation of the entire appellation, and to make joint efforts to protect the environment. In addition, when buying a Cru Bourgeois wine, it is assumed that the consumer should be sure that he is investing in a product with a reasonable and fair price/quality ratio, that it is not a fake (thanks to the QR code on the bottle), and that the wine reflects the terroir and characteristics of the appellation.
In general, the Cru Bourgeois classification can be considered a reliable guarantor of wine quality, since it is assigned not to the château, but to the wines, and not for the entire duration of its existence, but for five years. If we compare it with other immutable classifications of Bordeaux wines (Grand Cru Classé 1855, Cru Classé de Graves, which cherish it and strive to prevent its revision), then the Cru Bourgeois classification more accurately reflects the realities: the chateau can reduce or expand the area of the vineyard, replace the vines with younger ones, change the wine blend or winemaking technology, which can affect the characteristics of the wine. In this case, the producer has the right not to apply for consideration of his candidacy for the classification, or to choose another level (and the consumer’s expectations will then be justified).
How do winemakers themselves assess the fact of having the status of Cru Classé or Cru Bourgeois? For the historical classifications of 1855, Graves or Saint-Emilion, this fact is very important and is supported by the château. It must be admitted that they received it not only and exclusively for the high price at which their wines were sold by merchants during the creation of the classification, but also for the high quality and potential of the wines. Therefore, they can not only afford strict selection of grapes and a significant reduction in production volumes in the event of an unfavorable vintage and if the quality of the wine was not up to par, but also impressive investments in technology, in the tourism and environmental components of the farm. In the case of cru bourgeois, the main factor in access to classification is the consistency of quality, potential and representativeness of the wine over five years. Not all Medoc winemakers can afford a long transition to production with “high environmental value”, build and maintain a guest house, provide excursions with guides who are constantly on hand, and so on. Some put wine first and everything that can improve it – selected grapes, the best production technologies, new installations – and make a choice in favor of the previous level of classification, excluding the tourism component. Therefore, a simple “cru bourgeois” will not always have new tasting rooms, but there is no doubt about the typicality and good quality of its wine for the set price.
