Why Bordeaux has so many overlapping rankings
"Premier Cru Classé." "Grand Cru Classé A." "Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel." "Cru Classé de Graves." Bordeaux has more wine classifications, hierarchies, and rankings than any other major wine region, and they do not interlock cleanly. A wine that is the top tier in one system is unranked in another. Some classifications are nearly two centuries old and unchanged; others are revised every ten years; others have been abolished and replaced.
This page is a guide to what is on the label. It does not tell you which wines to buy — that is a matter of taste, vintage, and price. It explains what each ranking system is, who created it, what it covers, and what it doesn't.
A practical thing to remember up front
None of these classifications is a guarantee of quality in the bottle in front of you. They are reputational frameworks, sometimes formal and government-backed, sometimes private. They reflect the long-term standing of an estate. They can be out of date, especially the older ones; ownership changes, vineyards expand or contract, winemaking improves or declines. Plenty of unclassified wines outperform classified ones in any given vintage. Treat the rankings as orientation, not verdict.
The 1855 Classification (Médoc and Sauternes)
The most famous Bordeaux classification was drawn up for the 1855 Universal Exhibition in Paris. Napoleon III asked the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce to assemble a list of the region's best wines. Rather than taste, the brokers compiled a ranking based on the prices that estates had been commanding in the trade over the previous decades. The result was a hierarchy that has barely changed in nearly 170 years.
The five tiers (red wines)
The 1855 Classification ranks red wines from the Médoc (with one exception, Château Haut-Brion in the Graves) into five tiers, in descending order of historical reputation:
- Premiers Crus (First Growths) — the elite tier.
- Deuxièmes Crus (Second Growths).
- Troisièmes Crus (Third Growths).
- Quatrièmes Crus (Fourth Growths).
- Cinquièmes Crus (Fifth Growths).
The First Growths in 1855 were Lafite, Latour, Margaux, and Haut-Brion. Mouton Rothschild was promoted from Second to First in 1973 — the only substantive change to the classification since it was drawn up. Otherwise, the list is the same as in 1855: a few estates have been split between heirs, names have changed slightly, but the hierarchy is essentially frozen.
The classification covers about 60 estates spread across the Haut-Médoc communes — mostly Pauillac, Margaux, Saint-Julien, and Saint-Estèphe. The geography is covered in detail on our Médoc wine route page.
The Sauternes tier
The 1855 Classification also ranks the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac, in three tiers:
- Premier Cru Supérieur — a single estate, Château d'Yquem, in a category of its own.
- Premiers Crus (First Growths).
- Deuxièmes Crus (Second Growths).
What the 1855 list does not cover
The Right Bank — Saint-Émilion, Pomerol — was not included in 1855. Pomerol still has no classification today. The Médoc estates outside the top tiers were addressed later by the Cru Bourgeois system. The Graves got its own classification a century later.
The Saint-Émilion classification
Saint-Émilion built its own ranking system, established in 1955 — a century after 1855 — and explicitly designed to be revised. The classification is theoretically updated every ten years, with estates submitted to a panel that evaluates wine quality, terroir, vineyard practices, and reputation. Estates can be promoted, demoted, or removed.
In practice, the revisions are contentious — almost every cycle has involved legal challenges from estates demoted or excluded — but the principle of regular reassessment is what distinguishes Saint-Émilion from the 1855 system.
Three tiers
- Premier Grand Cru Classé "A" — the top tier; historically a very small group of estates, sometimes shifting between revisions.
- Premier Grand Cru Classé "B" — a wider group of leading estates.
- Grand Cru Classé — a longer list of high-quality estates.
Beneath these classified tiers sits the broader appellation Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, which is sometimes confused with the classification but is in fact a separate AOC designation. Wines labelled simply "Saint-Émilion Grand Cru" are not automatically classified estates; they have met slightly stricter rules for yields, ageing, and alcohol than basic Saint-Émilion AOC. The "Grand Cru Classé" wording, by contrast, indicates an estate that has been formally ranked.
The geography of the appellation is covered on our Saint-Émilion wine page.
The Graves classification (1953/1959)
The Graves got its own classification in the 1950s — first issued in 1953 and revised in 1959. Unlike the others, it is a flat, single-tier list: estates are either Cru Classé de Graves or they are not. There is no Premier, Second, Third.
It also recognises both reds and whites, which is unusual: an estate can be classified for its red wine, its white wine, or both. The Graves classification covers around 16 estates, almost all in what is now the smaller, sub-divided Pessac-Léognan appellation, created in 1987 to recognise the historic core of the Graves region.
Cru Bourgeois
The Médoc estates not covered by the 1855 list — many of which produce excellent wine — historically used the term "Cru Bourgeois" to indicate quality without claiming a Classified Growth status they did not have. This was a centuries-old informal usage, and the term carried real weight.
The system has been formalised, dismantled, litigated, and reformed several times in the modern era. The current arrangement, in place since the 2020 vintage, is a three-tier structure that is reassessed every five years:
- Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel — the top tier.
- Cru Bourgeois Supérieur — middle tier.
- Cru Bourgeois — entry tier.
Cru Bourgeois is a Médoc-only classification. It does not overlap with the 1855 list — an estate is one or the other, not both. Cru Bourgeois wines are typically priced well below Classified Growth wines from the same commune and often offer the best value for visitors looking to explore Médoc reds without grand-cru prices.
Crus Artisans
A smaller, less-famous category exists for very small Médoc estates with their own production. Crus Artisans are typically family-run, low-volume properties; the classification was revived in 2002 after lying dormant for most of the 20th century. It is reviewed periodically. The wines are made on a smaller scale than most Cru Bourgeois estates and are sometimes hard to find outside the region.
Pomerol — no classification at all
Pomerol, the small Right Bank appellation that includes Château Pétrus, has never had a formal classification. Its hierarchy is established entirely by market price and critical reputation. This unusual status has not held the appellation back; some of the world's most expensive wines come from unranked Pomerol estates. It does, however, mean that buying Pomerol requires more research — there is no quick label cue to lean on.
Entre-Deux-Mers and other appellations
The other major Bordeaux sub-regions — Entre-Deux-Mers, the Côtes de Bordeaux, the smaller satellite appellations — have no formal classification of estates. Wines are sold under the appellation name, sometimes with a producer-led "cuvée" or "sélection" designation that is not a regulated tier.
A practical guide to reading a Bordeaux label
Putting it together, here is what to look for:
- The appellation (the largest small print): tells you the geographic origin and the rules the wine has to meet — Pauillac, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, Sauternes, etc.
- The classification, if any: phrasing such as Premier Grand Cru Classé, Grand Cru Classé, Cru Classé, or Cru Bourgeois indicates a formal ranking. Look for the year of the classification cited (e.g., "Classé en 1855").
- The estate name: usually prefixed with Château, Domaine, or Clos. The format is conventional rather than indicative of any tier.
- The vintage: matters more for sweet wines and for the borderline Bordeaux vintages; a great producer in a poor year still makes a less remarkable wine.
- "Mis en bouteille au château": the wine was bottled at the estate. Standard for serious Bordeaux.
If you see "Saint-Émilion Grand Cru" with no "Classé" wording, it is the appellation — not the classification. The distinction trips up most people the first time.
A decision rule for buying
If your aim is reliability and you don't know the producer:
- For everyday drinking: a Cru Bourgeois Supérieur or a wine from a recognised satellite appellation is usually a sound choice and is rarely overpriced.
- For a special bottle without grand-cru pricing: a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé from a respected estate, or a Cru Classé de Graves, gives you a classified wine without First-Growth prices.
- For collecting or laying down: the 1855 Classification is the most established framework, but vintage and producer matter at least as much as the tier.
- For sweet wines: a Sauternes Premier Cru is a safe bet in a good vintage; in a weak vintage, even an unranked estate from a strong producer is a better choice.
None of this is a substitute for tasting. If you can, taste before you buy in volume — covered in our guide to visiting Bordeaux châteaux.