A Closer Look At The Cru Bourgeois

Created three years after the seminal 1855 classification of the major Chateaux of the Médoc region of Bordeaux, the Cru Bourgeois designation attempted to delineate red wines from small estates that delivered exceptional quality for money.

Initially there were close to 248 châteaux divided into three categories: Cru Bourgeois, Cru Bourgeois Supérieurs and Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels. The wines are reviewed by a tasting panel and the classification is revisited every five years. In 1962, the Union des Cru Bourgeois de Médoc was formed and regulations governing the us of the term were adopted by the French and EU governments.

There are currently 14 châteaux defined as Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels, 56 as Cru Bourgeois Supérieur and 179 as Cru Bourgeois, according to the Cru Bourgeois site. These producers make 28 million bottles a year, on 4,400 hectares of land and account for 31 percent of production in the Médoc, according to the website.

The Secret is Out

These wines overdeliver for their price point and lead the way to finding value in the overpriced—and sometimes over rated—region of the Medoc: which has been the Cabernet Sauvignon-based engine that could for the left Bank of this prestigious area.

During a recent trip I had a chance to talk to some of the area’s top producers and taste a few of their better-made wines. My first stop was the 18^th Century Châteaux Lafitte Carcasset. For the uninitiated not all Chateaux names read the same or have the same heritage, however Lafitte—which also makes up part of the moniker at other high-end producers—has been a somewhat common name historically.

This estate has been busy readying itself for visitors. It was about to open a pool when I was there over the summer and has been restoring the former stables to rooms over a three-year period. The producer is also going to take a big risk and start producing Chardonnay next year on limestone soil: a rarity in Bordeaux where Chardonnay is not a usual grape and the land is generally used for more expensive wines and blends based on red, grape varieties. One of my favorite bottles from the Châteaux is their similar, introductory label, called The Corsair 2018.

It is light, balanced and red fruit and black cherry flavors. It costs about $20 in U.S. markets and cleverly uses AI technology to tell the story behind its label.

Coralie Abdiche, the commercial and marketing manager at the Châteaux, says that the Cru B appellation was launched in 1930 to allow wineries, that did not exist during the major 1855 classification of all of the Medoc, to be acknowledged.

Several other producers who I met with, including Chateau Du Retout and Chateau Sipian—which has been owned by Chinese investors since 2018—had many positives to add about the rating system in the region. Several of the managing directors of both these Chateaus said that Chateau B should be a guide for affordable quality wines that may be more fresh and accessible than other offerings from the Medoc.

One of my other favorite wines was from the 2018 Châteaux Escot, which is owned by Czech executives: which speaks once again to how international this region has become. It is primarily a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend and has lovely notes of raspberries on the palate.

This sub-region of the Medoc is well worth a visit (and a chance to bring some of the wines home!).