Wine · Terminology

Cru Bourgeois

A Médoc classification for good châteaux outside the 1855 list — relaunched in 2020 with three tiers.

Cru Bourgeois is a classification for Médoc châteaux that were left out of the 1855 list. The name is old — it goes back to the merchant bourgeoisie of medieval Bordeaux who owned vineyards outside the aristocratic estates — but the modern classification is a 20th-century creation, and a troubled one.

Unlike Cru Classé, it is not permanent. Estates are assessed on quality and re-ranked, which is both its strength and the source of every argument about it.

In practice

  • The 2003 revision was annulled by the courts in 2007 after excluded châteaux sued, alleging conflicts of interest on the jury.
  • From 2010 it ran as an annual, vintage-by-vintage award rather than a ranking of estates.
  • The 2020 relaunch restored a three-tier structure, valid for five years and based on the 2018–2022 vintages.
  • Roughly 250 châteaux currently hold the classification.

Where you'll meet it

  • Médoc labels below the classified growths — Haut-Médoc, Médoc, Listrac, Moulis and the communal appellations.
  • The value end of serious Bordeaux, where the quality-to-price ratio is often best.

The 2020 three tiers

Tier Requirements
Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel Highest quality bar; audited environmental and management standards; ~14 châteaux
Cru Bourgeois Supérieur Middle tier; stricter production and traceability rules; ~56
Cru Bourgeois Entry tier; blind tasting plus a production audit; ~180

Every tier requires blind tasting of five vintages and an audit of vineyard and cellar practice. Reclassification happens every five years, so demotion is real.

Why it matters more than its rank suggests

The 1855 classification is frozen; Cru Bourgeois is not. That makes it one of the few Bordeaux categories where the label reflects recent performance rather than 19th-century prices. For a buyer, a Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel from a good vintage is frequently better value than a coasting Cinquième Cru.

The trade-off is instability: a classification that can change is a classification producers will litigate over, as 2007 demonstrated.

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