On September 22, 2016, the Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Medoc announced that 278 chateaux had made it into the official selection for the 2014 vintage.
Around 30 million bottles of wine are expected to carry the Cru Bourgeois label. 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.
The full list of the 2014 Official Selection of the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc is available here.
For earlier selections, see:
The 251 Crus Bourgeois du Médoc of the 2013 Vintage Announced, France
The 267 Crus Bourgeois du Médoc of the 2012 Vintage Announced, France
The 256 Crus Bourgeois du Médoc of the 2011 Vintage Announced, France
The 260 Crus Bourgeois du Médoc of the 2010 Vintage, France
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.
See:
A German Wine Maker in the Medoc: Dinner with Stefan Paeffgen at Château Le Reysse, France
Wine Dinner with Stefan and Heike Paeffgen, Château Le Reysse and Château Clos du Moulin, Vignobles Paeffgen, Appellation Médoc– Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), France
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.
The Future: A New Classification System
Recently, the members of the Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc voted overwhelmingly in favor of the creation of a classification system for their wines. The move was approved by 75% of members in a secret ballot with a provisional timetable setting a date of 2020 for the introduction of the system.
The new classification in 2020 will bring an end to the yearly assessments that have run since 2008 and the categories assigned to estates from then on will stand for five years. Châteaux can apply to be ‘Cru Bourgeois’ or they can apply for the ‘Supérieur’ and ‘Exceptionnel’ categories where, in addition to passing a qualitative tasting test, they must pass other criteria including their agricultural and environmental practices, property management and promotion of their wine.
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