{"id":6991,"date":"2021-12-13T08:30:06","date_gmt":"2021-12-13T07:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.d-vine.pro\/?p=6991"},"modified":"2021-12-01T15:52:52","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T14:52:52","slug":"classification-of-bordeaux-wines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.d-vine.com\/en\/classification-of-bordeaux-wines\/","title":{"rendered":"Classification of Bordeaux Wines"},"content":{"rendered":"

The term \u201cGrand Cru\u201d is often bandied about to refer to fine wine in general, but not just any wine can qualify as a Grand Cru. So where does this notion of Grands Crus come from? And how is the Bordeaux Grand Cru classification system unique? Let\u2019s take a look closer at Bordeaux and find out.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

What is a Grand Cru?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>

The word \u201ccru\u201d derives from the French verb \u201ccro\u00eetre\u201d (to grow) and in wine lingo thus translates as \u201cgrowth\u201d or more specifically the place of growth of a wine. A Grand Cru is an excellent vineyard or vineyard plot with exceptional conditions that produce wines of outstanding quality.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This notion of Grand Cru is present in only a few regions of France and the world. In France, the two principal regions with an established Grand Cru system are Burgundy and Bordeaux<\/strong>, and each of these systems are quite unique.<\/p>\n

Whereas the Burgundy system is based on the classification of individual vineyard plots, in Bordeaux, it is the wine estate or ch\u00e2teau that has Grand Cru status.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

Why does the Grand Cru status apply to wine estates in Bordeaux and not plots of land?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

The vineyards of Bordeaux developed around family dynasties and large wine estates<\/strong> that are even referred to as ch\u00e2teaux<\/em>. Burgundy, in contrast, has a history of small winegrowers.<\/p>\n

To understand Bordeaux\u2019s roots, we have to look back to the 12th century and to the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine with King Henry II of England. Following this union, many important commercial arrangements were agreed between Bordeaux and Great Britain, whose geographical closeness facilitated trade.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

\"Chateau<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

With these agreements, the city of Bordeaux expanded quickly and wealthy families moved there. The Bordeaux wine region benefited from these arrivals and large vineyards developed around these families\u2019 mansion houses or \u201cch\u00e2teaux\u201d.<\/p>\n

In 1855, a classification of wine estates, to judge the quality of wines,<\/strong> was created on the basis of the price they fetched. This classification only included wines from the Left Bank of the river Gironde. In other words the red wines of M\u00e9doc, the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac, and one red wine growth or \u201ccru\u201d in the area of Graves.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

A classification system still used today<\/h2>\n

As surprising as it may seem, this classification is still the one used today. There are two reasons for this.<\/p>\n

Firstly, the terroirs it covers enjoy excellent winegrowing conditions<\/strong>. Indeed, if the estates of the 1855 classification were already reputed at the time, it is because their winegrowing terroir offers a special combination of soil, climate and humidity that enables the production of outstanding wines.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition to natural factors, winegrowing skills<\/strong> also come into play. Within these large estates, winegrowing is a passion that is passed from one generation to the next. The savoir\u00a0faire of these families is decades old<\/strong> and has allowed these estates to conserve their ranking.<\/p>\n

Since the creation of the classification in 1855, there has only been one change to it, in 1973.<\/p>\n

It is worth nothing, too, that the famous right-bank appellation Pomerol does not belong to any classification. And so neither does the legendary wine P\u00e9trus of the same appellation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

The Graves Grand Cru Class\u00e9 ranking<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

In 1953, INAO (the official national body for wine appellations) approved a classification for Graves<\/strong> on the request of the appellation\u2019s winegrowers\u2019 syndicate. Since Ch\u00e2teau Haut-Brion was the only Graves wine included in the 1855 Bordeaux classification. It was important for Graves to have its own ranking. There are 16 Graves Grands Crus Class\u00e9s<\/strong> in this classification, including both red and white wines, all of which are from within the Pessac-Leognan AOC.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

\"Domaine<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

The Saint Emilion Grand Cru Class\u00e9 ranking<\/h2>\n

A year later, in 1954, it was this time the Saint-Emilion winegrowers\u2019 syndicate that asked the INAO to establish its first ranking of Grands Crus Class\u00e9s, which included 84 AOC Saint Emilion wines.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since 2012, this ranking \u2013 which is revised every ten years \u2013 has been divided into 64 Grands Crus Class\u00e9s and a superior category of 18 Premiers Grands Crus Class\u00e9s.<\/p>\n

This classification is crucial for Saint Emilion producers<\/strong> and the downgrading of certain estates has been a great source of tension because of the many marketing and financial issues at play.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

<\/div><\/div>

To learn more<\/h2>\n

Now that the Grands Crus of Bordeaux are no longer a mystery to you, let\u2019s look at the Burgundy classification system<\/strong><\/a> in more depth.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The term \u201cGrand Cru\u201d is often bandied about to refer to fine wine in general, but not just any wine can qualify as a Grand Cru. So where does this notion of Grands Crus come from? And how is the Bordeaux Grand Cru classification system unique? Let\u2019s take a look closer at Bordeaux and find...","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7003,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regions-and-grapes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nD-vine - Classification of Bordeaux Wines<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The term \u201cGrand Cru\u201d is often bandied about to refer to fine wine in general. 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