Demystifying 'Grand Cru'

Part 1: Bordeaux

‘Grand Cru Classé.’ We’ve all seen it on bottles (whether we’ve tasted them or not) and the phrase sounds incredibly impressive. But what does it actually mean?

I wish I could give an easy answer for this… but the reality is, it depends where the wine is from!

Château Ferrière, situated in Margaux, is one of 14 Third Growth châteaux

Take Bordeaux, specifically the Médoc on the Left Bank. In 1855, Bordeaux wine brokers were asked to rank the region’s top estates for the Paris Exposition, commissioned by Napoleon III to showcase France’s finest products. The grading process was completed in just two weeks and understandably, they were not able to taste every single wine in this time so rankings were heavily based on market value and reputation, rather than blind tastings.

58 estates were ranked into five tiers (named First to Fifth Growths) and astonishingly, the rankings have changed very little in those 170 years. Despite changes in climate, ownership and style (Bordeaux wines back then would have been paler in colour, lower in alcohol and lighter in tannins), these châteaux, for the most part, have maintained their positions. 

Today there are 61 classified châteaux due to splits, mergers, and the later addition of Château Cantemerle.

Château Ferrière works biodynamically - something that is hugely popular in Bordeaux

There are:

• 5 First Growths

• 14 Second Growths

• 14 Third Growths

• 10 Fourth Growths

• 18 Fifth Growths

And yes, all 61 of these châteaux can legally put ‘Grand Cru Classé’ on their labels - they don’t have to state which tier they fall into - meaning a Fifth Growth can look just as ‘top tier’ as a First, even though four levels sit above it.

That’s not to say that these classed châteaux aren’t very highly regarded. On the contrary, being awarded any ranking in the 1855 Classification is a huge mark of quality. For context, 95% of châteaux are unclassified across Bordeaux regions.

However, the system does raise questions. Does a ranking decided in a rush, and tied so closely to historic reputation, still serve today’s producers? Especially when smaller estates may make exceptional wine but struggle for visibility under such famous names. An impenetrable ceiling seems to hover over their heads, regardless of how hard they work on their wines

And this is where Bordeaux differs sharply from Burgundy. In Burgundy, vineyards (not producers) hold Grand Cru status, which is based entirely on terroir. Whereas the Médoc league is based on the quality of the winemaking in the named château, who may source their grapes from various vineyards around the specified appellation or commune, Burgundy is sliced up into tiny plots of hugely nuanced and prized terroir, which are the making of Grand Cru wines. I’ll dive deeper into this another time!

For now, remember that the words ‘Grand Cru’ on a bottle of Bordeaux tells a fascinating story - but perhaps not the whole one.