New Crus Bourgeois classification finalised

Crus-Bourgois-nouveau-classementIt’s official: the new Crus Bourgeois classification was adopted at the end of 2017. And the outcome is… the reinstatement of the three former categories – Cru Bourgeois, Cru Bourgeois Superiors and Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel – along with the reintroduction of the five-year ranking in line with the organisation’s wishes.

The Crus Bourgeois had been talking about it for long enough, and now it’s happened. On January 4th, the decree of December 29th was published in the Journal officiel, confirming the change to the Crus Bourgeois classification. The headline news: a return to the three quality levels – Cru Bourgeois, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur and Cru Bourgeois Exceptional – that had been dropped in 2003. The classification can be applied from the 2018 vintage onwards, but is not expected to be published until 2020. It will be valid for a period of 5 years (the current classification, by contrast, is annual). Registrations for this new classification will be open from March 1st to September 30th.

In general terms, the principles of this classification, first drawn up in 1932, remain the same: blind tasting of wines, an independent jury, consideration of environmental issues and checks throughout the validity of the classification.

But one of the main questions still remains: which domaines will accept this new classification? The former Crus Bourgeois Exceptionnels have conspicuously turned their backs on the classification since the 2003 version was annulled: will they come back? For the record, there were nine Crus Bourgeois Exceptionnels:

Watch this space for more news! Whatever the outcome, iDealwine salutes this success for the Alliance des Crus Bourgeois, which will – hopefully – give consumers a clearer understanding of the quality hierarchy of Bordeaux wines. Don’t miss the next developments in this story.

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