Wine · Terminology
Premier Cru
A ranked vineyard just below Grand Cru in Burgundy — but the top rank in Bordeaux's 1855 list.
Premier Cru — "first growth", often written 1er Cru — is another term that changes meaning by region, and catches people out constantly.
In Burgundy it is the second tier, below Grand Cru and above village wine — roughly 10% of production, across some 640 named sites.
In Bordeaux's 1855 Médoc classification, Premier Cru (Premier Grand Cru Classé) is the top rank: Lafite, Latour, Margaux, Haut-Brion, and Mouton Rothschild since 1973.
In practice
- Burgundy label format: village, then the site — Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers. A wine blended from several premier cru parcels is simply Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru.
- Champagne: 44 Premier Cru villages, rated 90–99% on the old échelle des crus, below the 17 Grand Cru villages.
- Bordeaux: the 1855 ranking classified châteaux, not vineyards, and has barely changed in 170 years.
Where you'll meet it
- Burgundy above all, where premier cru is often the sweet spot for value.
- Chablis, with 40 premier cru climats — Montée de Tonnerre, Fourchaume, Vaillons.
- Champagne, on grower labels.
Premier Cru by region
| Region | Rank | Classifies |
|---|---|---|
| Burgundy | 2nd of 4 | The vineyard |
| Chablis | 2nd of 4 | The climat |
| Champagne | 2nd | The village |
| Médoc (1855) | 1st of 5 | The château |
| Saint-Émilion | Premier Grand Cru Classé is the top | The estate |
Why Burgundy premier cru is the value tier
Grand Cru prices carry a scarcity premium that has decoupled from the wine. Premier Cru sites are frequently adjacent — sometimes a few metres away, on the same slope, from the same grower — and cost a fraction. Some are better than neighbouring Grands Crus in a given vintage, and the great climats (Les Amoureuses, Les Saint-Georges, Clos Saint-Jacques) are long-standing candidates for promotion that has never come.
The classification was drawn in the 1930s and has scarcely moved since. Like the 1855 list, it records the reputation of a moment — which is exactly why it repays knowing where it is out of date.
Related terms
- Grand Cru — the tier above (in Burgundy)
- Cru Classé — the 1855 system
- Appellation — the framework