What are the 5 Grand Cru of Bordeaux?

Bordeaux is known throughout the world for its prestigious wines. And this is not today’s news. This has been the case for centuries. Whether you like Bordeaux or not, this wine region has been on a pedestal since the Middle Ages now. Its influence can be seen worldwide : Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are the most common blends.

How did it reach this first position? You can read all about the rise of Bordeaux in the Middle Ages and the Dutch Influence on this website.

Of course, where there’s a lot of excellent wines, we like to classify them. The most famous classification is the classification of 1855, where Bordeaux wines from Médoc and Graves were classified in 5 Grand Crus (Growths).

What are the 5 Grand Cru of Bordeaux?

What is a cru?

The CONCEPT of Cru (Growth) is used to designate a specific vineyard, often a TERROIR or the name of a COMMUNE. A cru is the “winemaker” version of the denomination. To take the same example as my post on denominations: Margaux appellation is a cru of Bordeaux.

The territory can be a locality, a municipality or a wine estate.

The right to the “Cru” name is open under 3 conditions : that the product can be individualized, that it really and exclusively comes from the area it claims and, last but not least, that it belongs to an AOP.

A CRU is therefore associated with an AOC (for example the ten “Cru du (AOC) Beaujolais”), a geographical delimitation (a plot for areas such as Burgundy) or a communal delimitation (associated with the commercial value of the grapes and the grape variety), a farm (such as Saint-Emilion, whose Crus are updated every ten years), special production conditions (for example : Banyuls Grand Cru, which has a majority of Grenache and long aging)

However, in Bordeaux, the classification system is not linked to that of appellations, except in Saint-Emilion. Moreover, it does not concern specific terroirs, but estates (or castles as they are called in Bordeaux). Indeed, the size of the property can vary over the years, with the purchase or sale of plots. The name of a chateau is therefore more of a brand than the designation of a specific vineyard.

The classification of 1855

In 1855, Paris hosted the third UNIVERSAL Exhibition. For this occasion, Napoleon III asked his ministers to contact the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the candidate REGIONS for the exhibition to encourage them to present their best products there by classifying them.

The President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, through wine brokers, in Bordeaux decided to respond to this request by establishing a classification of Bordeaux wines. But, wait! This only applies to the LEFT Bank of Bordeaux.

The red wines all come from Médoc, except Château Haut-Brion who belongs to the Pessac Léognan appellation.

The white wines come from Sauternes or Barsac.

The criteria for this classification was the following :

• the vine root depth and the ages of the vines. This influenced the length of aromas and the body of the wine
• the vineyard elevation and the degree of natural light the grapes get
• the terroir
• the quoted value on the market.

Originally, the list included 58 châteaux. Over time, this list has evolved and now includes 61 châteaux : 5 Premier Crus (First Growth), 14 Second Crus (Second Growth), 14 Third Crus (Third Growth), 10 Fourth Crus (Fourth Growth) and 18 Fifth Crus (Fifth Growth)

This list was revised only once in 1973, when Château Mouton Rothschild was promoted from Second Growth to First Growth.

Concerning the white wines, 27 sweet wines were classified from Sauternes and Barsac. Château d’Yquem is the only Premier Cru Supérieur, 11 Châteaux constitute the Premier Cru and 15 the Second Cru.

Over the years, the number, size and owners of classified châteaux have changed a lot, as has the quality of their wines. The relevance of the 1855 ranking to current quality levels is the subject of ongoing debate.

The Premier Crus Supérieur

There is only ONE wine which has this title : Château Yquem

The Premiers Crus (First Growth) (A+ wines)

There are five First Growths, which used to be owned by two families only….

Concerning the reds :

• Château Lafite Rothschild (Pauillac) : The signature wine is a highly Cabernet Sauvignon dominated blend, with 20% of Merlot and a splash of Cabernet Franc. The grapes are grown on gravel and clay soils, where Cabernet Sauvignon thrives best.

• Château Latour (Pauillac): The signature wine is made nearly only of Cabernet Sauvignon (90%). With these high tannins, this is a definitely a wine built for aging.

• Château Margaux (Margaux) : Here again Cabernet Sauvignon makes up over three quarters of the blend. Petit Verdot is also present in the blend with Merlot of course.

• Château Haut-Brion (Pessac-Léognan): Here, the grapes are grown on large rocks and loamy soils. It is the only first growth where Merlot is the dominant grape variety (50%) in the blend, with Cabernet Sauvignon being a close follow-up (40%). Cabernet Franc completes the blend.

• Château Mouton Rothschild (Pauillac) : With this last Firsth Growth, we are back to gravel soils and, hence, Cabernet-Sauvignon dominated-blends.

Concerning the whites :

• Château Suduiraut (Sauternes)
• Château Climens (Sauternes / Barsac)
• Château Clos Haut Peyraguey (Sauternes)
• Château Coutet (Sauternes / Barsac)
• Château Guiraud (Sauternes)
• Château Lafaurie Peyraguey (Sauternes)
• Château Rabaud Promis (Sauternes)
• Château de Reyne Vigneau (Sauternes)
• Château Rieussec (Sauternes)
• Château Sigalas Rabaud (Sauternes)
• Château La Tour Blanche Blanche(Sauternes)

The Seconds Crus (Second Growth) (A- wines)

Concerning the reds :

• Rauzan-Segla
• Rauzan-Gassies
• Leoville Las Cases
• Leoville Poyferre
• Loeville Barton
• Durfort Vivens
• Gruaud Larose
• Lascombes
• Brance Cantenac
• Pichon Longueville Baron
• Pichon Comtesse de Lalande
• Ducru Beaucaillou
• Clos d’Estournel
• Montrose

Some are considered super seconds and their price would be between First Growth and Second Growth

Concerning the whites

• Château d’Arche (Sauternes)
• Château Broustet (Sauternes / Barsac)
• Château Caillou (Sauternes / Barsac)
• Château Doisy Daëne (Sauternes / Barsac)
• Château Doisy Dubroca (Sauternes / Barsac)
• Château Doisy Védrines (Sauternes / Barsac)
• Château Filhot (Sauternes)
• Château Lamothe (Sauternes)
• Château de Malle (Sauternes)
• Château de Myrat (Sauternes / Barsac)
• Château Nairac (Sauternes / Barsac)
• Château Romer du Hayot (Sauternes)
• Château Suau (Sauternes / Barsac)

The Troisième (B+) , Quatrième (B) and Cinquième Crus (C+)(Third, Fourth and Fifth Growth)

For the Third Growth, I dedicated a whole post about them, so go check it out if you want to know all about them.

Concerning the Fourth Growths :

• Saint Pierre
• Talbot
• Duhart-Milon
• Branaire Ducru
• Pouget
• La Tour Carnet
• Lafon Rochet
• Beychevelle
• Prieure-Lichnie
• Marquis de Terme

Concerning the Fifth Growth

• Pontet Canet (priced as Second Growth)
• Batailley
• Haut Batailley
• Grand Puy Lacoste
• Grand Puy Ducasse
• Lynch Bages (priced as Second Growth)
• Lynch-Moussas
• Dauzac
• d’Armailhac
• Du Tertre
• Haut Bages Liberal
• Pedesclaux
• Belgrave
• Camensac
• Clos Labory
• Clerc Milon
• Croizet-Bages
• Cantemerle

Conclusion : What are the 5 Grand Cru of Bordeaux?

All in all, when we talk about First to Fifth Growth in Bordeaux, we usually talk about the 1855 classification. However, we must not forget there are other classifications in Bordeaux, with the Saint-Emilion classification. Thus, some “casual terms” have been put into place when one speaks about Grands Crus:

• the “Big 8” which includes the five First Growth we’ve just seen and two from the Saint-Emilion Premier Cru Classé A classification : Cheval Blanc and Ausone. Although in 2012, two more were added to the Premier Cru Classé A. So shouldn’t this club be called the “Big 10”? One day perhaps…

• The “Big 9” which includes the “Big 8” and Petrus, although Petrus does not belong to any classification, having appeared in the 20th century only.