More Médoc chateaux have been awarded the Cru Bourgeois label for the 2012 vintage than for any year since the classification was relaunched in 2010.
Cru Bourgeois
On September 19, 2014, the Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Medoc announced that 267 chateaux had made it into the official selection for the 2012 vintage. That is up from 256 estates in 2013 and is the most since the classification was relaunched in 2010. New entrants in the 2012 list include Chateau Haut Beyzac, which has 26 hectares in Vertheuil in Haut-Medoc, and Chateau Amour, an AOC Medoc estate with 53 hectares.
Around 29 million bottles of wine are expected to carry the Cru Bourgeois label, accounting for approximately 30% of the Medoc's production, representing 4,100 hectares of vines. Most estates selected are AOC Medoc and Haut-Medoc properties, but there are also several properties from Pauillac, Margaux and St Estephe, as well as Listrac-Medoc and Moulis.
See here for a complete listing of the 267 Crus Bourgeois du Médoc for the 2012 vintage.
The Cru Bourgeois Classification of 1932
From 1932 to the end of the 1900s, the Cru Bourgeois du Medoc system was a classification system set in stone. The first Cru Bourgeois list was drawn up by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and Chamber of Agriculture in 1932, selecting 444 estates from the Medoc for the classification. These were wines that were not included in the 1855 Classification of Crus Classes, but still of high quality.
Cru Bourgeois du Médoc Today: A Label Awarded Annually
Today, the Cru Bourgeois du Medoc is a wine label that is awarded annually, on the basis of an assessment of both production methods and the wine. Production methods are periodically inspected and the wines are submitted to an independent panel for annual tasting. Any property in the Médoc may apply.
The first vintage that came under the current system, is the 2008 vintage, announced in 2010.
Note that some very highly regarded wines outside the 1855 classification such as Château Gloria and Château Sociando-Mallet do not submit their wines for the Cru Bourgeois du Medoc classification. Thus, there is a sizable number of top producers in the Medoc today that are neither in the 1855 classification nor in the Cru Bourgeois du Medoc classification.
For the 2014 Wine Tours by ombiasy, including to Bordeaux, see:
3 Wine Tours by ombiasy Coming up in 2014: Germany-North, Germany-South and Bordeaux
The Cru Bourgeois Classification of 2003 (Annulled)
In between the current annual classification system and the 1932 classification system set in stone, there was a new classification introduced in 2003 that was subject to a lot of controversy and later annulled. Of the 490 châteaux that applied to be included in the classification of 2003, only 247 were included, a significant contraction of the original listing made in 1932 (444 estates).
The 2003 Cru Bourgeois classification classified the 247 properties in three tiers: Exceptionnel (9 properties), Supérieurs (87 properties) and straight Bourgeois (151 properties).
In February 2007, the 2003 was annulled. At this point, the 1932 classification was briefly reinstated, with its single tier and 444 estates.
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