Go back to GO: the new Cru Bourgeois classification annulled

A court in Bordeaux has declared annulled and invalid the new Cru Bourgeois classification that was introduced in 2003. 77 chateaux that had been excluded in the new ranking had taken the issue to court. The classification has been nullified by the court because, it is said, the jury included owners of some chateaux being judged – a classic case of being both prosecutor and judge one might think. Cru Bourgeois will therefore revert to the classification dating from 1932. The new classification had reduced the number of classified chateaux from 444 to 247 so one can imagine that there were a few discontent owners. Will this then have wider consequences. Almost all ”juries” in the French wine world include what one could consider partial jurors – both for classifications (such as in this case) and for Appellation Contrôlée wines (all AC wines are subject to a tasting for approval, called “agrément”). wine-business-international.com, decanter.com, vitisphere.com

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