Skip to main content

A quick guide to French wine crus

We'll help you understand French wine labels

Cru vineyard
SpiritProd33 / Getty Images

A French wine label can seem, well, foreign. As a whole, they tend to be peppered with traits and terminology that are not immediately familiar, sometimes cloaking the contents of the bottle to those who don’t speak the language or understand the hierarchies.

Recommended Videos

One word you’re likely to encounter a lot — whether you’re hunting for a fine Burgundy, a good sauternes, or a celebratory Champagne — is “cru.” Meaning “growth,” the word is a viticultural one, pointing to the vineyard where the fruit is grown. Over the years in France, vineyards have been rated based on their ability to create wine. It’s subjective and, like a lot of things in wine, probably due for some reform, but it’s worth understanding if you’re looking to better know what you’re drinking.

Like water rights or celebrity, the cru system is certainly antiquated, based largely on family names and maps or lists drawn up a long time ago. To France’s credit, growers are finally waking up to the many moving parts at play, adjusting dusty old blending rules and considering different cru designations based on an abruptly changing climate. But there’s far more work to do here. With the imbibing masses increasingly focused on transparency over critical acclaim and prestige, it’ll be interesting to see what comes of it.

In the meantime, here are some basics to get you in and out of the bottle shop a little more confidently, whether it’s an online find or a brick-and-mortar pickup. In addition to being something of a rating hierarchy, the cru system stresses terroir. Bottles designated a certain way should, in theory, demonstrate some type of typicity associated with a specific place. Again, it’s often more subjective than scientific, but there are certainly styles and flavors attached to certain French vineyards (and beyond).

Generally, if you see cru on the label, it’s pretty good stuff. The two most esteemed wine crus are Premiere and Grand. How the two terms are used is a little confusing. In Bordeaux, Premier (or premier grand cru classé) is the best of the best, the topmost of five formal designations (refresh your French vocabulary by looking up how to count from one to five). Unlike Burgundy, where the focus is on the site, the cru designation here is more focused on the production facility itself, or the chateau. 

Elsewhere, as in Sauternes or Burgundy, Grand wears the gold medal while Premiere refers to the silver medal bearer. Burgundy classifies all of its vineyards this way, with lesser-revered sites and labels sporting the “Villages” (bronze medal) and “Bourgogne” markers (honorary mention). Many other regions in France and beyond work under very similar labeling guidelines. Famous spots like Alsace and Champagne place their work on similar podiums.

What to look for

Person grabbing a wine bottle
RUNSTUDIO / Getty Images

The cru designation ought to be pretty noticeable on the label. It’s often more challenging to decipher the producer or which sub-region the fruit (and fruit type) is coming from. Premiere cru wines are often labeled as “1er Cru,” so be on the lookout for that. There are well over 600 in Burgundy alone, so you’re likely to see this wording a lot. If making wine on-site is important to you, look for the phrase “Mis En Bouteille Au Domaine.” But also know that the négociant system means a lot of split-up French vineyards and winemaking happening elsewhere entirely. 

There are a few more things to be aware of. There’s very little regulation over using “grand vin” on a label (meaning great wine). It’s sort of like slapping “reserve” on the label. Somebody thinks it’s good, but that somebody may not be you. In Bordeaux, much of the hierarchy is leftover from a system requested by Napoleon III in 1855. Many of the 61 names are recognizable and of high quality (like Chateau Margaux) but aren’t always worth the sometimes outrageous pricing. Look for great buys in the second or third tiers of whichever region you’re dabbling in.

More French wine classifications

Red wine pour
Africa Studio / Shutterstock

As you can see, you can learn a lot about the character of French wines if you know how to read the label (and know a little French). We’ve talked a lot about the meaning of cru in French wines, but there are further tiers of classifications that speak to the quality of the wine in the bottle.

  • The first tier is AOP, which stands for Appellation d’Origine Protégée. It is reserved for wines of the highest quality, including wines classified as Premiere Cru and Grand Cru.
  • Next comes Vin de Pays (“Wine of the Land), this classification speaks to the geographic location where the grapes for the wine are grown. The quality of these wines can vary from vineyard to vineyard, and it accounts for about 25% to 30% of all French wines.
  • Vin de France is the most basic French wine quality classification. It’s not as common as the other two tiers, with only about 20% of French wine falling into this category. Vin de France wines are made from grapes grown in any region of France, and as a result, they usually don’t have an indication of origin on their label.

Easy, right?

Mark Stock
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…
From sangiovese to syrah: the ultimate guide to dry red wines
Some of the greatest wines ever made
Cut of grilled steak with glass of red wine

Chances are your favorite red wine is dry. I know that not because I have a crystal ball, but because pretty much every popular red wine is dry. (I urge you to discover the many delights of sweet red wine, but not right now.) Before we get into types, let’s address the big question: What makes a wine dry?

Wines are called dry when they have comparatively low amounts of residual sugars, meaning they taste less sweet (technically below 1%, or nine grams of sugar per liter). All wines would be dry if fermentation weren’t halted or they were back-sweetened. Yeast will “ferment until dry,” meaning it will gobble up all the sugar there is, no crumbs left. This dry descriptor applies to all types of wine – sparkling, white, red, and rosé. The first time dry appears in writing referring to wine was in Richard Ames’s 1691 poem “The Last Search After Claret, &C.” in which the narrator is looking for a red Bordeaux but is offered sweet port instead:

Read more
Not all doom for wine: New report shows premium bottles are having a moment
Bad news for Two Buck Chuck, great news for Chandon
Collection of wine corks

We live in convulsive times, and the wine industry is no exception: Caught in the terrible trifecta of climate change, historically low worldwide consumption numbers, and steep tariffs, the market has taken some serious hits of late. And, although global wine sales continues its downward trend, It’s not all bad news. Based on the latest numbers, we’re getting a glimpse of not only a difficult first quarter for the wine market, but some positive emergent trends regarding online buying and premium wines. 

Let’s start with the bad news first, just to get it out of the way.

Read more
Wine that survives anything: Madeira’s storied history and unique aging process
Once you learn about this type of wine, it may be your new go-to
Grapes on the vine

When I think of fortified wines from Portugal, ruby and tawny ports tend to hog the spotlight in my head (and no shade there -- a glass of good port is a thing of joy forever for me). But the Portuguese have another ace up their sleeve in this regard, and it’s a wondrous thing called Madeira. What’s amazing about Madeira (apart from its nutty caramelized sugar and smoke profile) is that by rights, it shouldn’t exist.

"Heat and air, both the sworn enemies of most wines and wine makers, conspire to turn Madeira into one of the most enthralling of the world’s wines as well as the most resilient," author and fortified wine expert Richard Mayson wrote. "Having gone through this extreme and often extensive ageing process, Madeira is virtually indestructible … If ever there was a wine to take away with you to a desert island, this is it."

Read more