The 2010 Cru Bourgeois listing has been announced, with 260 chateaux included.
This compares with the 246 châteaux that were listed out of 304 that applied for the 2009 vintage.
The Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc system was revised in 2008; dozens of producers had contested their exclusion from the 2003 Classification, leading to its annullment.
It is open to all eight Médoc appellations: 4,400 hectares of vines in Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac-Médoc, Moulis, Margaux, Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe.
Judging takes place annually from March to July two years after the vintage. Wines are tasted blind in barrel, with a percentage re-tasted after bottling in anonymous ‘shelf tests’ – ie the wines are chosen at random from retailers’ shelves.
The panel is made up of wine professionals in Bordeaux who have no links to any of the châteaux.
In total the listing will represent some 32m bottles, each one of which is marked with a QR code linking to château details on the Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc website.
Sélection Officielle 2010 Crus Bourgeois du Médoc – full listing
Written by Adam Lechmere
