French wine labels can be incredibly confusing. The labels indicate the region where a wine was produced, but not always the grapes used. For example, the words "Grand" and "Premier" are commonly used, but although "Premier" means first in French, "Grand" usually appears on the better wine. And then there is the word "Cru" which has different meanings in different French wine regions.
Cru translates to "growth. To be precise, it refers to a large or superior growing site or vineyard, a concept related to the French concept of terroir. Soil, climate and altitude aspect and the right variety create a synergy recognized as cru. Although the term is used throughout France, it is not always applied in the same way. The concept is also used in countries such as Germany and Italy, but with subtle differences and implications. Here we explain how the word cru is used in France, Germany and Italy.
Cru's in France
Burgundy
Burgundy can be a complex region to understand. Yet the classification system is relatively simple. Grand Cru is the top, while the level below it is called Premier Cru.
A cru in Burgundy designates a high-quality vineyard. They are often broken down into parcels owned by different winemakers or estates. These classifications are based on observations that began with 12th-century Cistercian and Benedictine monks in the Côte d'Or. Every vineyard in Burgundy is classified in this hierarchy. Grand Cru is at the top of the pyramid, followed by Premier Cru, the "Village" wines, with the generic Burgundy category at the bottom.
The 12th-century monk began classifying vineyards in Burgundy's Côte d'Or
Burgundy's Cru hierarchy
Grand Cru
Premier Cru
"Village" wines
Burgundy category
Each of the 33 Grand Cru has its own appellation, and only Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are grown within their borders. Few appellations allow both. Premier Cru wines are cheaper and often of greater value, although their long-term aging potential is usually less.
Uniquely, Chablis has one Grand Cru appellation that includes seven vineyards. The seven sites have a favorable southwest exposure that helps ripen the grapes and overlooks the city of Chablis, Premier Cru is the category below.
Bordeaux
In Bordeaux, cru is applied quite differently. Grand Cru Classé is the best-known quality rating system and is tied to a specific chateau or estate rather than an adjacent vineyard. Established in 1855, it consisted only of left-bank chateaus in Médoc, Graves and Sauternes, ranked from one to the five, based on their value at the time. The first is called Premiers Cru, while the second through fifth cru's are called Cru Classé.
On the right bank, Pomerol is unclassified, but Saint-Emilion offers plenty of confusion for both. Saint-Emilion has two chateau-based quality classifications, although it adds a separate third category. At the top of the quality pyramid are Premier Grand Cru's Classés, of which there are 18, followed by Grand Cru's Classés with 64 chateaus. The third appellation category is not tied to a specific classified chateau or geographic subzone. Wines labeled "Saint-Emilion Grand Cru" have stricter production rules.
The cru's in the rest of France
Alsace
Alsace applies the term Grand Cru in the same way as Burgundy. 51 vineyards are designated as superior, or Grand Cru, and these wines can use the term on their labels. There is an incredible diversity of Alsace Grand Cru wines, with four grapes approved for use, as well as varied soils and aspects.
Beaujolais
Not far from Burgundy is Beaujolais, the French headquarters of Gamay. There, cru is not applied to vineyards, but to villages. There are 10 villages, such as the well-known Morgon and Fleurie. Wines produced from these villages are called Cru Beaujolais.
Champagne
Like Beaujolais, Champagne classified entire villages as Grand Cru or Premier Cru sources for fruit, called "ladder of growth. They established the system in the early 20th century to set grape prices for both farmers and buyers in Champagne houses.
Each harvest is priced. A grower with land in one of Champagne's premier cru villages receives 100% of the price. Fruit from premier cru villages 90% to 99%, while the rest receive 80% to 89%. Today there are 17 grand cru villages including Aÿ, Bouzy, Cramant and Oger.
Cru's in Germany and Italy
The idea of a special area being superior to those of the areas around it stretches back to Roman times. Wine presses found at archaeological sites in the Mosel Valley correspond to the supposed plots that are superior today.
Germany
In Germany, the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP), an association of elite German wine estates, has its own vineyard classification system similar to Burgundy. The highest level is VDP Grosse Lage (grand cru), then VDP Erste Lage (premier cru), VDP Ortswein (village) and VDP Gutswein (regional).
Italy
In Italy, some regions strive to define cru, but Piedmont and Sicily are better-known examples. In Piedmont, Barolo and Barbaresco have geographically mapped their grand cru's, and those delineations of vineyards are part of the statutes of their Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCGs).
Producers in Sicily's Etna DOC map crus following ancient lava flows, and the resulting changes in soil and altitude, along Etna. The region has only recently been revived for fine wine making, so official delineation may take some time.
By Lauren Mowery
