Cru bourgeois and the new order

Panos Kakaviatos looks at plans for the return to a tiered system in 2020 and discovers why opinions are still divided today in Bordeaux.

This article was first published in a free Bordeaux 2018 supplement alongside Decanter magazine's July issue of the same year. It is now available online to Premium subscribers, with the cru bourgeois 'class of 2016' being named this week, .

For more than 10 years, Bordeaux’s cru bourgeois classification had been left without a ranking.

The last attempt to divide the category into three qualitative levels – back in 2003 – lasted four short years.

Earlier this year, however, French authorities approved specifications and a verification procedure for a new Crus Bourgeois du Médoc classification. The reaction so far has been mixed.

Some merchants believe that strong brand names matter more to consumers than official French designations.‘I cannot think of the last time – and my 20 sales people cannot either – that any customer has asked for a cru bourgeois or cru bourgeois exceptionnel,’ says Simon Staples of UK merchant Berry Bros & Rudd. ‘It’s all about brand and price.’

Others feel that a return to hierarchy could create practical selling points for what today amounts to a small sea of some 250 wines, all undifferentiated crus bourgeois specifically from eight appellations: Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac, Moulis, Margaux, Pauillac, St-Julien and St-Estèphe.

The term ‘cru bourgeois’ has been used for centuries in Bordeaux to denote wines that offer high quality and good value. ‘Despite representing famous appellations, cru bourgeois means quality wines for affordable prices, even in great vintages,’ comments Frédérique de Lamothe, director of the Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc.

She adds that since 2010, wines labelled cru bourgeois reflect a ‘strict annual quality procedure’.

The Alliance represents about a quarter of all Médoc properties; some 5,500ha of vines. Open to all Médoc estates, the selection – an audit of every applicant and an annual assessment of its production in the form of a blind tasting – occurs two years after the harvest. So, for example, the 2014 vintage was assessed in 2016 and the 2015 in 2017.

Image issues

But how clear is the image of cru bourgeois? ‘When I think of them, I think of a few names such as Sociando-Mallet, Poujeaux, Ormes de Pez, Siran, Chasse-Spleen, Phélan Ségur and others,’ says Mark Wessels of wine importer MacArthur Beverages in Washington DC.

In fact, none of the wines he names is officially a cru bourgeois today. ‘I assumed they were,’ continues Wessels, who only recognises ‘at most 25%’ of the wines on the current list of official cru bourgeois. He is hardly alone, however.

Some estates Wessels mentions, including Chasse-Spleen, had been considered ‘top-tier’ cru bourgeois since 1932, when the categories cru bourgeois exceptionnel, cru bourgeois supérieur and cru bourgeois were first registered with the French Chamber of Commerce. Not an official classification, the 1932 list served as a commercial reference for more than 70 years.

It was only in 2003 that a ministerial order approved an official classification, which recognised 247 châteaux out of 490 candidates. It lasted only four years because many estates that had been excluded from it successfully challenged the way it was determined.

French courts agreed with claims of conflicts of interest in the judging. In 2007, even the term ‘cru bourgeois’ was banned.

After French authorities reauthorised the term in 2009, the Alliance was created to promote crus bourgeois, albeit sans rankings.

The shadow of the 2003 classification lingers, however, as it ranked eight châteaux at the top (exceptionnels): de Pez, Ormes de Pez, Chasse-Spleen, Poujeaux, Siran, Haut-Marbuzet, Potensac and the now-defunct Labégorce Zédé (later incorporated into Château Labégorce).

These were seen as the motor driving the crus bourgeois, much like the first growths lend lustre to the classified growths of 1855.

Mixed views

Given the negative experience of the first classification attempt, most of the former ‘exceptionnels’ are not keen for a second attempt. Chasse-Spleen and Phélan Ségur did not want to be a part of this article or have their wines reviewed, for example.

Among the former exceptionnel châteaux that did participate in the tasting for this article, only one of them – Château de Pez – was planning to send an application for the second classification at the time of writing. ‘Honestly, I think we will apply to again become a cru bourgeois exceptionnel,’ comments Nicolas Glumineau, CEO and winemaker at the estate.

Other châteaux did not want to be part of the new classification, but were happy to be quoted in this article.

Christophe Labenne, director of Château Poujeaux, believes that the unfortunate experience of 2007 ‘blurred’ the cru bourgeois concept for consumers. He feels that over the past 10 years Poujeaux has developed a brand that works independently of the cru bourgeois configuration; for this reason the estate has decided to opt out of any new classification.

Similarly, Edouard Miailhe of Château Siran was content for his property to have been classified as exceptionnel at the time. Yet today he says: ‘The estate benefits from an image and track record that would assimilate it more to the classified crus of the Margaux appellation, if the classification of 1855 were to be revised.’

Such an assessment is shared by Ben Giliberti, former Washington Post wine columnist and current director of wine education at importer Calvert Woodley in Washington DC.

‘Thirty years ago, I’d have thought of wines such as Sociando Mallet, Poujeaux, Ormes de Pez, Siran, Chasse-Spleen, Phélan Ségur, Haut-Marbuzet and de Pez as cru bourgeois, recognising that they stood out at the top of their class,’ Giliberti says.

‘Now I think of them more as de facto fifth growths, because they are made to the level of classified growths, on the best soils of their appellation.’

Pierre Graffeuille, director of Château Potensac, comments that the estate ‘might consider’ applying in the new classification, but only if the exceptionnels would be limited to a handful of estates. ‘If the number of top wines is 25, that would not interest us,’ he says. He also disapproves of some criteria for the classification, including judging the reception rooms and wine tourism offer, which he feels are ‘unrelated to wine quality’.

New procedures

According to de Lamothe, it is unknown how many candidates would be selected as exceptionnels in this new classification, because the process does not specifically limit the number.

Does she worry about court cases this time around? ‘We will be careful with all details to organise the classification,’ she says. ‘We need to find high-profile wine experts with no links to the candidates.’

Another factor is that the classification will be revised every five years. ‘It would be more worthwhile to apply for the second classification (which will be published in 2025) than to oppose the first, if a château is not satisfied with its ranking or is not classified at all,’ says de Lamothe.

Current members would welcome the return of the former exceptionnels. ‘It would have a positive impact for the image of the crus bourgeois,’ says Loïc Chanfreau of Châteaux Fonréaud and Lestage in Listrac. He believes that the stricter rules for applications and selection criteria and the independent tasting juries inspire confidence.

Candidate applications for the new cru bourgeois classification opened in March 2018 and can be submitted until 30 September. Those applying for supérieur or exceptionnel classification must fill out a 50-page dossier before February 2019 to be reviewed by an independent panel. That dossier covers viticulture and winemaking practices as well as promotion, distribution and guest reception facilities, among other criteria.

Regular, unannounced inspections will be made to verify the claims made in dossier applications. An independent jury of wine professionals, which is currently being recruited, would hold blind tastings of those candidates whose dossiers were accepted for the exceptionnel level.

The independence and impartiality of juries and tasters, supervised by a verification body, is essential, according to de Lamothe, so as to avoid any charges of conflict of interest.

Practical purpose

Some observers believe that the new ranking would make more sense without the former exceptionnels.

‘It would be more interesting for lesser-known crus bourgeois to be picked as top tier, just as an unknown restaurant could get a Michelin star,’ suggests Michael Grimm, a Bordeaux wine importer based in Germany. ‘This would create confidence among connoisseurs and wine lovers.

‘Nobody buys Phélan Ségur, Meyney or Labégorce [solely] because they are cru bourgeois,’ he continues. ‘And if critics and consumers see such estates at the level of a classified fifth or fourth growth, the term cru bourgeois is not useful for those estates, either.’

Stéphan Maure, owner of Vino Strada in Strasbourg agrees. ‘We rarely sell the more famous brands as cru bourgeois, but the new classification would help us to differentiate among the many crus bourgeois of today.’

This logic applies even in those markets where pronouncing French wine-ranking terms is not as easy, according to Debra Meiburg MW, a Hong Kong-based wine educator, wine judge and founding director of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition.

‘We are a cue-driven market,’ Meiburg stresses of Hong Kong.’‘Awards, classifications and ratings do matter.’ She also hopes that the Alliance des Cru Bourgeois will continue to promote the ‘quality designation’ in Asia.

Some argue that communication should be better. ‘They need to properly tell people about this new classification,’ says Jeremy Stockman, general manager of Watson’s Wine in Hong Kong. ‘We’re the largest Bordeaux importer in Hong Kong and I wasn’t aware of it.’

However the rankings end up, the tasting for this article includes estates that were rated supérieur in 2003 and most of the exceptionnels. Sociando Mallet is included, even if it opted out of the 2003 classification.

All wines are from the 2015 vintage, which generally favoured the southern Médoc over the north. So a relatively weak performance from Ormes de Pez (exceptionnel in 2003) and a strong performance from Paveil de Luze (supérieur in 2003), for example, has as much to do with vintage character as winemaking and viticultural talent.

Results confirm that fine Bordeaux need not break the bank.

Cru bourgeois – a timeline

1740 Although known since the Middle Ages, the first selection and prices of Médoc cru bourgeois appear in a text

1858 248 crus bourgeois listed as 34 bourgeois supérieurs, 64 bons bourgeois and 150 bourgeois ordinaires

1932 Bordeaux wine brokers designate 444 crus bourgeois for commercial use, with internal revisions in 1966 and 1978

2000 A Minister of Agriculture order stipulates rules for a cru bourgeois classification with three categories: cru bourgeois exceptionnel, cru bourgeois supérieur and cru bourgeois

2003 The first official classification of the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc recognises 247 châteaux out of 490 candidates

2007 The Administrative Court of Appeal of Bordeaux (above) annuls the 2003 classification

2009 Public authorities allow a qualitative selection procedure but without rankings. The Crus Bourgeois du Médoc Official Selection is published annually in September since 2010

2018 French authorities approve a new classification to be published in early 2020 and renewed again in 2025

Panos Kakaviatos is a freelance wine writer, educator, tour guide and judge

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