Medoc Wine and Classifications

Learn more about Medoc wine and the separate classification systems for this Bordeaux fine wine region. There are three primary classification systems for Medoc France and they include the 1855 Classification, the Medoc Crus Bourgeois Classification and the Crus Artisans Classification.

Medoc is an important wine area in the Bordeaux wine region. Medoc is the name used for both this wine area and it is also the name of one of the eight AOCs in this area.

This can be confusing, so wanted to point out that the classifications below include wines from all of the Medoc AOCs, not just the Medoc sub-regional AOC. Also, if you are unfamiliar with the term AOC, learn more about it on the French Wine Labels page.

This region has a long wine history and the ability to make fine French wine. Both of these create the need for a few additional classification systems for the Medoc wine in this area.

1855 Classification

The most well-known red wine rating system is the 1855 Classification. This primarily includes Medoc wine but also includes one chateau in the Graves AOC.

The Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce established this system in 1855. They created it at the request of Napoleon who wanted a ranked list of wines based on price. At the time, the price of the wine was a good indicator of quality.

They created five categories. Premiers Crus, or first growth wines, are the highest quality wines. The second was the Deuxiemes Crus or second growth wines. Three final categories followed and they are the Troisiemes Crus (third growths), Quatriemes Crus (fourth growths) and Cinquiemes Crus (fifth growths).

A total of 60 Medoc wine chateaux and one Graves wine chateau were included. Any chateau that did not make the cut did not receive any classification in this system.

Here is the break out of the number of chateaux by classification:

• 5 Premiers Crus
• 14 Deuxiemes Crus
• 14 Troisiemes Crus
• 10 Quatriemes Crus
• 18 Cinquiemes Crus

There has been only one change to the system since 1855. In 1973, the Chateaux Mouton-Rothschild moved from the second growth to the first or premier growth status. The owner petitioned for this change for more than twenty years and finally won.

An interesting note about this famous classification is that it is not recognized by or incorporated into the current AOC system. Since the 1855 classification was based more on the prices or the chateau 'brand' at that time, the new AOC system did not take these rankings into account as is now a dated classification. However, others still consider it an important classification system even though it doesn't play into the AOC designations.

A large number of the Chateaus in the 1855 Classification system come from the communal AOCs in this area. Learn more about Margaux wine, one of the communal AOCs in this region, and the red wines in this AOC included in the 1855 Classification.

The Medoc Crus Bourgeois Classification

The next classification is the Crus Bourgeois Classification. These are chateaus with a large amount of history in this wine region.

There were a number of wine producers in the Bordeaux region starting around the 12th century. In the 15th Century, France took over this region from Britain. During this transition, France allowed these producers to retain ownership of their land. These plots of land received the name Crus Bourgeois.

In 1932, 444 chateaux submitted a petition for consideration for official Crus Bourgeois status. The review process stalled for a number of years.

Rough times hit the region with both World War II and the Freeze of 1956. During this time, the list of 444 chateaux decreased to around 94.

In 2003, the remaining chateaux finally received the official designation. However, this status was rescinded in 2007.

Since 2007, the committee responsible for the classification worked on and created a new system called the Reconnaissance Crus Bourgeois. Several of the original chateaux qualified for this new designation. It went into effect in 2010 for all 2008 vintages.

Crus Artisans Classification

The last classification of Medoc wine is the Crus Artisans. There are 44 properties in the Medoc wine region with this classification.

The designation was created in 2006. It includes all small family owned operations in the region that manage their entire business from growing to selling their wines.

There are a couple of additional Medoc wine guidelines for this classification. The chateaux also need to be at least 150 years old and produce wine from no more than 2.5 to 12.5 acres a year.

Most of the chateaux with this classification are in the Medoc and Haut-Medoc sub-region AOCs. However, there are also a few in the Medoc communal AOCs.