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On March 30 (2022), the Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité (INAO) of France published a newly approved use of the word Cru, as it applies to wine regions and wine labels. This move makes the term Cru part of the official hierarchy of wine designations.
Put simply, the term cru may now be used in conjunction with a legally-approved sub-appellation—a Dénomination Géographique Complémentaire (Complementary Geographical Denomination/DGC)—as part of the hierarchy of a wine with an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) designation.
Only a small percentage of France’s AOCs have previously designated DCGs; some well-known examples include the Bourgogne AOC, Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine AOC, and Côtes du Rhône-Villages AOC. Under the new guidelines, the name of a wine produced from grapes grown in—for example—the La Chapelle Notre-Dame sub-appellation of the Bourgogne AOC may appear on a wine label as follows: Bourgogne–La Chapelle Notre-Dame Cru AOC.
- To use the term cru on a wine label, it must meet the following criteria:
- The DCG must be legally designated and based on consistency of terroir (a lieu-dit)
- The DCG must be small in total geographic area (defined as a single locality or no more than ten communes)
- The wine is subject to a tasting panel and must be deemed to be of exceptional character
- Approval of the INAO
As any good wine student has no doubt already noted, this may—at least initially—lend some confusion on the use of the term cru, as it is already seen in the many Premiers Crus, Grand Crus, and even the Troisièmes, Quatrièmes, and Cinquièmes Crus of the myriad wines of France.
Here’s to the new crus?
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Post authored by Jane A. Nickles…your blog administrator: jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org