PRESS KIT
PUBLICATION OF THE 2011 OFFICIAL SELECTION OF THE CRUS BOURGEOIS DU MEDOC
The Crus Bourgeois du Médoc unveils the new 2011 Official Selection in this press kit. Several hundred years-old,
"Cru Bourgeois" status has been regaining its commercial value, respect in the markets and popularity with
consumers, both in France and abroad, since 2010. With the launch of this fourth vintage, the Crus Bourgeois du
Médoc have proven that their quality procedure is a guarantee of success. Stable prices, an assurance of quality
vintage after vintage and the brand's historical dimension are all factors in a difficult economic climate that
encourage buyers to invest in bottles that have been awarded the "Crus Bourgeois" seal of approval.
Frédéric de Luze
President
Contents
Key figures for the 2011 vintage
Launch schedule for the 2011 Official Selection
A new Selection and a new visual
The "Cru Bourgeois" quality procedure
Authentication and quality guarantee: the "Cru
Bourgeois" sticker
An attractive alternative
Tools for the consumer
Deep historical roots
Key figures for the 2011 vintage
256
Crus Bourgeois du Médoc
111
Crus Bourgeois in AOC Médoc,
corresponding
to about 14 million bottles
80
Crus Bourgeois in AOC Haut-Médoc,
corresponding
to about 10 million bottles
14
Crus Bourgeois in AOC Listrac-Médoc,
corresponding to about 800,000 bottles
15
Crus Bourgeois in AOC Moulis,
corresponding to about 900,000 bottles
10
Crus Bourgeois in AOC Margaux,
corresponding to about 900,000 bottles
5
Crus Bourgeois in AOC Pauillac,
corresponding to about 270,000 bottles
21
Crus Bourgeois in AOC Saint-Estèphe,
corresponding to about 1.5 million bottles
The Crus Bourgeois du Médoc produced approximately
28 million bottles
in 2011, or
about 30 % of the Médoc's production.
256 Crus Bourgeois du Médoc
and 28 million bottles correspond to a combined area of
about
4,000 hectares
, representing 25 % of the Médoc's vineyards.
Reminder - Previous Official Selections
2008 - 243 Crus Bourgeois du Médoc - 25 million bottles
2009 - 246 Crus Bourgeois du Médoc - 32 million bottles
2010 - 260 Crus Bourgeois du Médoc - 32 million bottles
Figures for the Médoc:: Conseil des Vins du Médoc - CVM
The Crus Bourgeois du Médoc select the best from their production to
ensure quality; the quantities placed on the market therefore vary for each
vintage.
Launch schedule for the 2011 Official Selection
17 September 2013, publication of the 2011 Official Selection
17 September at the Palais de la Bourse in Bordeaux, first Tasting of the 2011 Crus
Bourgeois du Médoc for Brokers and Merchants in the Place de Bordeaux and journalists.
18 September, distribution of the 2011 Official Selection worldwide via social networks.
19 September in London, tasting of the 2011 Crus Bourgeois du Médoc for journalists
and the main buyers and opinion leaders in the United Kingdom.
24 September in Paris, tasting of part of the Official Selection and lunch for the wine
tasters from Paris.
8 October in Hong Kong, tasting and dinner for the trade press.
Press tastings throughout the year for French and international specialized media.
Tastings for journalists of the 2011 Official Selection will be organized by the Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du
Médoc on request.
A new Selection and a new visual
A word about the artist
JOFO was born in 1961 in Dax (Landes). He has lived and worked in Bordeaux since 1981, when
he entered the School of Architecture in Bordeaux. A completely self-taught, multifaceted artist
Jofo is a painter, draughtsman, video-maker and rock singer. An architect by training, he
developed his own unique style more than twenty years ago, a universe of emotions with stories
of "Toto", a small, perplexed, melancholic character with round eyes, but who is always positive
and cool... He first exhibited in Bordeaux in 1990 under the name "Jofo".
Inspired by freedom, his painting addresses universal themes, such as family, society, love,
sexuality, separation, rock, war, religion, sport, with scenes from lives and the little things that
make people happy... His art is dissolved in simple, poetic style, often with black lines and blocks
of solid colour.
Some of Jofo's previous works
1994 Decoration of the racing yacht "Ville de Bordeaux" for the Sailing Tour de France.
1995 Creation of the "Toto Cylinder", a permanent work in the centre of the Forum des
Halles in Paris.
1998 Visual communication for the Football World Cup in Bordeaux.
1999 Decoration of the facade of the Children's Hospital in Bordeaux.
2000 Visual Communication for the Comic festival in Angoulême.
2009 Winner of the competition for the poster for the centenary of the Bourget Air Show.
2012 His acclaimed "Chapo Bordo" series, exhibited on the railings of the Public Gardens was
a superb tribute to the architecture of Bordeaux, his adopted city.
JOFO & the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc
What do the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc suggest to you?
"It would have to be the sublime road through the rolling hills from Bordeaux to Soulac, with its
vineyards and châteaus, and the villages and the little ports on the Gironde estuary. A wonderful
world."
What did you want to convey with this visual?
"The beauty of the châteaus in the Bordeaux region, although I had to draw an imaginary
bourgeois building so as not to give preference to any particular château in the Médoc. I also had
to go without my favourite character "Toto", as he would have got into trouble with France's
laws regarding the advertising of alcohol!"
What were your sources of inspiration for the creation of this visual?
"The beauty of the sites, of course... Bourgeois as the name of the wines indicates!"
How would you sum up the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc in one word?
"Precious"
In what sort of setting do you like to drink the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc?
"Accompanied by a good Gascon meal, such as foie gras, duck confit with cep mushrooms and
sautéed potatoes with garlic and parsley, at the bottom of a garden, in the shade under a tree,
with loved ones! And some music..."
The "Cru Bourgeois" quality procedure
An approved quality procedure
Following the remarkable mobilisation of the wine producers of the Médoc in the formation of the
Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc, the traditional "Cru Bourgeois" designation, that had been in use for
several centuries, was saved in 2010.
Thanks to a totally innovative approach, the support of the French public authorities was obtained at the end of 2009 when it was approved with the decree of 20 October 2009 and the ministerial order of 16 November 2009. Every year, in September, the Official Selection of the new vintage is unveiled and brought to the attention of the general public.
Independent and uncompromising
The quality procedure is monitored by an independent body on the basis of a set of specifications. This independent body brings a fresh eye to the "Cru Bourgeois" quality assurance process and ensures impartiality at every stage.
"Cru Bourgeois" quality assurance is open to all Médoc vineyards authorized to produce wine in one of
the eight Médoc AOCs: Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac-Médoc, Moulis, Margaux, Saint Julien,
Pauillac and Saint Estèphe. Properties applying for recognition must undergo an eligibility visit. This eligibility is then checked on a random, ongoing basis. Once a property is eligible, it may present its wine at the tasting.
A representative selection is determined in a blind tasting of samples provided by candidates which
then serves as a reference for the vintage concerned. Each wine is then tasted and scored by a jury of
experts, made up of professional tasters recognized in the industry, with six tasters per session. The independent body is responsible for the organisation of the tasting, the revealing of the identity of the wines and the results of the organoleptic assessment.
The attribution of the traditional "Cru Bourgeois" designation is based on the arithmetic average of the scores given to a wine by the six professional tasters. This score allocated to a prospective château is compared to that of the representative sample for the vintage concerned.
Tasting is carried out on an individual basis with no conferring
If the wine obtains a score greater than or equal to the representative sample, it is a "Cru
Bourgeois".
The "Cru Bourgeois" sticker provides a guarantee of
authenticity and origin
All bottles of Crus Bourgeois du Médoc now have a unique secure visual recognition system, embedded in a sticker.
Recognizable thanks to the "Cru Bourgeois" logo, this sticker contains a unique, random code for each bottle.
A guarantee of quality and security for professional buyers and consumers, the system enables:
- The respect of volumes produced The quality tasted and recognized by the professional jury corresponds to the quality of the wine placed on the market for an authorised volume.
- A guarantee of the origin and uniqueness of each "Cru Bourgeois" bottle when it is placed on
the market A unique code is allocated to each bottle.
- The protection of each bottle Several levels of security are incorporated into the "Cru Bourgeois" sticker
Using their smartphone,
consumers can scan the QR Code on the sticker.
Connection to www.crus-bourgeois.com is immediate
and provides direct access to all the information on the wines and châteaus in their dedicated spaces on the site.
The "Cru Bourgeois" procedure approves the quality of a given volume of wine and
provides a guarantee of this quality to the consumer.
An attractive alternative
The quality of the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc, which is tested every year, and their prices that
remain stable even in top vintages, make them exceptionally good value.
The châteaus' distribution in the eight appellations of the Médoc,
results in a diversity of styles and offers
a very wide range of wines from which to choose.
The bottles are easily identifiable at their points of sale
all over the world, thanks to the "Cru Bourgeois" sticker.
Significant volumes (28 million bottles for the 2011 vintage) enables visibility of the "Cru
Bourgeois" brand on all the main markets:
● 60% of the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc are distributed in France and 40% is exported.
●
Internationally, the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc are present on the main markets of countries
importing French wine:
An average of 100 Crus Bourgeois are distributed in each of the following countries
United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands
Corresponding to about 40% of the wines in the 2011 Official Selection
152 Crus Bourgeois are distributed in the United States
Corresponding to about 60% of the wines in the 2011 Official Selection
An average of 65 Crus Bourgeois are distributed in each of the following countries
Japan,
Korea and Hong Kong
Corresponding to about 25% of the wines in the 2011 Official Selection
167 Crus Bourgeois are distributed in China
Tools for the consumer
The new Crus Bourgeois du Médoc Internet site created in September 2012 for the launch
of the previous Official Selection has proven to be highly successful.
A steady increase in the number of visits
-
Nearly 57,000 unique visitors in the first year with a total of more than 233,000 page
views
-
More than 75,000 visits, or an average of 1,500 visitors/week, up an average of 23%,
since the start of 2013
-
The top five countries consulting the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc site are:
o
France
o
China
o
Belgium
o
Germany
o
United States
The Château information sheets and Wine Tourism facilities
Using a personal computer or a smartphone, consumers have access, in just a few clicks, to full
details of all the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc. A detailed technical sheet, tasting notes, the
property's history and its GPS coordinates are all available to help develop consumers' knowledge
of the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc.
A simple system of wine tourism symbols on each sheet enables consumers to organize their
Crus Bourgeois visits in the Médoc region.
Deep historical roots
The Crus Bourgeois are a legacy that dates back to the Middle Ages.
The bourgeois were inhabitants of the "bourg" of Bordeaux, a town of merchants and craftsmen. During the period of English rule, they acquired rights and privileges, including exemption from taxes on the sale of the wines from their vineyards both locally (Guyenne) and abroad.
By the fifteenth century, enriched by international commerce, the bourgeois of Bordeaux were able to
acquire the finest properties in the region, which were initially referred to as the "Crus des Bourgeois"
and then simply the "Crus Bourgeois".
A text from 1740 contains the first selection and specifies the prices of the wines of the Médoc.
The French Revolution resulted in the privileges granted to the Bourgeois being revoked and the Crus des Bourgeois were forced to adapt during this period of social turmoil.
However, over the centuries they played an increasing role in the development of the Médoc vineyards through the export of their wines.
In the early nineteenth century, the Crus Bourgeois (about 300) had re-established themselves with prices that were already higher than those of the Crus Artisans and Crus Paysans.
After 1855, the authorities planned to create additional classes in the already famous existing classification with a view to incorporating some of the Crus Bourgeois.
At that time, 248 Crus Bourgeois were listed. Mr. d'Armailhac's book, published in 1858, lists 34 bourgeois supérieurs, 64 bons bourgeois and 150 bourgeois ordinaires.
In the early twentieth century, the Crus Bourgeois developed further and took up an important place in export markets, notably Germany and Russia.
The First World War brought an abrupt stop to this growth, and the situation became worse with the Great Depression of 1929. While the number of properties decreased, there were enough producers in the Médoc to keep the term "Cru Bourgeois" alive and in use.
In 1932, the Bordeaux wine brokers, under the joint authority of the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and the Gironde Chamber of Agriculture designated 444 Crus Bourgeois. This list was registered with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry but was never submitted for ministerial approval, however, it was to serve as a reference for the use of the term for more than 70 years.
In 1962, a union of the Crus Bourgeois was created. It organized an internal classification on two occasions in order to promote a competitive spirit within the Crus Bourgeois.
In 1979, the European Community labelling regulations approved the traditional term of "Cru Bourgeois" provided that the conditions for its use were specified by French law.
On 17 June 2003, a ministerial order finally approved the first official classification of the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc which recognized 247 châteaus out of 490 candidates.
Some of the châteaus that were not included denounced this classification as unfair. The judging panel was composed of eighteen professionals including the President of the Union of the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc (in accordance with the procedure stated in the Decree of 30 November 2000).
In 2007, the Administrative Court of Appeal of Bordeaux annulled the Decree of 17 June 2003 that had approved the classification of the Cru Bourgeois du Médoc. This decision was made on the basis that one cannot judge something in which one has an interest.
In 2009, a new selective quality assurance procedure for the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc was approved by the French public authorities with the decree of 20 October and the ministerial order of 16 November 2009.
2010 saw the first implementation of the "Cru Bourgeois" quality procedure with the publication of the 2008 Official Selection.
The publication of the Second Official Selection of the Cru Bourgeois du Médoc took place in 2011, for the 2009 vintage.
The publication of the ThirdOfficial Selection of the Cru Bourgeois du Médoc took place in 2012, for the 2010 vintage.
Today. A great family of wines.
The Crus Bourgeois are part of Bordeaux's wine heritage.
Some properties existed long before the creation of the 1855 classification and many are still here today in a demonstration of the strength of the traditional "Cru Bourgeois" description.
The Crus Bourgeois form a big family that brings together vineyards with widely differing profiles, and very different terroirs (eight prestigious AOCs: Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac-Médoc, Moulis en Médoc, Margaux, Saint Julien, Pauillac and Saint Estèphe), led by a variety of producers, many of whom have their origins in the Médoc, but who also come from other countries and regions, bringing dynamism and new ideas.
This is the strength of this family: diversity in unity. The vineyards share the same region and the same history, but each has its own character and offers the consumer something different.
This diversity can be found at every level: the appellation, winemaking techniques, flavour, price, reputation, marketing, approaches to wine tourism, communication, presence on social networks, etc. Ultimately, the members of this big family share the same ambition: the defence of the traditional "Cru Bourgeois" classification, in a world in which the preservation of traditions and expertise has become a symbol of luxury.
As a result of their selection criteria and positioning in terms of price, the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc are well-suited to today's markets and the requirements of increasingly demanding consumers.
