Grand Cru, Premier Cru or 'other' Cru?
Short answer: Grand Cru and Premier Cru say nothing about the champagne itself, but about the village where the grapes grow. On the Échelle des Crus of 1873, every wine-growing commune receives a quality score as a percentage: 100% is Grand Cru (only 17 villages, about 5% of all communes), 90 to 99% is Premier Cru, and everything below that is ordinary cru. A higher score points to better growing conditions, not automatically to a better bottle.
▲ Grand Cru, Premier Cru or other Cru? How does it work?
The ladder of Crus (Échelle de Crus) was established in 1873 and can be described as a quality score for wine-growing communes, expressed as a percentage. The scores are based on geographical characteristics and the selling prices of the grapes at that time.
Geographical characteristics include, for example:
- The position of the vineyard relative to the sun; vineyards that catch enough sunlight in the morning and not too much sun during the hottest part of the day.
- The angle of the vineyard; a vineyard that is too steep or too flat is not ideally positioned relative to the sun.
- The soil composition; certain grapes benefit from a particular soil composition.
- Minerals in the soil; there must be exactly enough minerals in the soil.
- The structure of the soil; water and nutrients must be able to be absorbed, while everything in excess must be able to drain away easily.
Grand Cru
A vineyard with a score of 100% should in theory have the best conditions for growing grapes and therefore be able to produce a better quality of grape. A score of 100% is classified as Grand Cru.
Originally only 12 communes were given the classification, but in 1985 another 5 communes were added. About 5% of all communes carry the Grand Cru score.
- Ambonnay
- Avize
- Ay
- Beaumont-sur-Vesle
- Bouzy
- Cramant
- Louvois
- Mailly-Champagne
- Puisieulx
- Sillery
- Tours-sur-Marne
- Verzenay
- Since 1985:
- Chouilly
- Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
- Oger
- Oiry
- Verzy
▲ All Grand Cru areas within Champagne.
To be allowed to state Grand Cru on the Champagne label, all the grapes must come from one or more of the Grand Cru communes above. Most Champagnes, however, are a mix of different communes and grapes, which means grapes from a Grand Cru commune disappear into a blend.
A Grand Cru Champagne is therefore quite rare.
Premier Cru
Just below the Grand Cru classification are the vineyards that have a score of 90% to 99%. These are the Premier Cru vineyards. In total there are 42 communes with a Premier Cru score. When Premier Cru is stated on the label, it means that all the grapes come from Premier Cru communes and possibly a portion from Grand Cru communes.
Other Cru
Other Cru is the category with the lowest score and is almost never stated on the label. Most Champagnes fall within this category (261 communes, about 80% of the total). Cru Champagnes are the norm, while they are often thought to be less 'good'. That is not necessarily the case! In the end, what matters is what is done with the grapes. That brings us to the next point.
New techniques
The Échelle de Crus is of course extremely old. Since 1873 quite a few things have changed. For example the climate and weather (temperature), the price of the grapes and, to a lesser extent, the composition and structure of the soil. But above all, viticultural techniques and winemaking methods make much more possible, which can lead to a better quality of Champagne and creates a variety of styles and flavours. Grand Cru and Premier Cru therefore tell you more about the vineyards than about the Champagne itself.
In any case, we keep a close eye on the developments. It is special to see year after year how winemakers apply alternative and new techniques to create a unique Champagne.
Grand Cru, Premier Cru and other Cru. We have it all. The vineyards of Champagne Boutrop are located mainly in the Grand Cru communes. The Brut Rosé is a Grand Cru Champagne and the Brut Tradition a Premier Cru. The Premier Cru consists of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, with the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay coming from Grand Cru communes. The Champagnes of William Saintot are all Premier Cru and La Villesenière other Cru. Although the vineyards of La Villesenière did not receive the very best score, they still produce exceptional Champagnes. Try it yourself!