Burgundy Premier Cru

In the hierarchy of Burgundy wines, Premier Cru sits between the village wines and the Grands Crus. It is not an appellation in its own right: it is a designation provided for in the rules of certain Village appellations and reserved for specific vineyards, the climats, listed by name and delimited parcel by parcel. It therefore indicates a place of origin, not a producer or a cellar selection.

Premiers Crus are found across much of the region: in Chablis, which has 40 classified climats; in the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune; in the Côte Chalonnaise; and, since 2020, in the Mâconnais too, with the 22 climats of Pouilly-Fuissé. In Gevrey-Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny, for example, the lists were drawn up in 1943, taking particular account of the 1860 classification by the Viticulture Committee of the arrondissement of Beaune. In those same two communes, the rules require Premiers Crus to have lower yields and a higher minimum natural alcohol level than the village wine.

On the label, the appellation name is followed by “Premier Cru,” often abbreviated to “1er Cru,” and usually by the name of the climat, as in Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Lavaut Saint-Jacques. If the wine comes from several Premier Cru climats in the same appellation, only the designation remains, with no vineyard name. A place name on the label, however, does not by itself make a Premier Cru: Village wines may also name a lieu-dit, which in the Gevrey-Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny rules, for example, must be printed in lettering no more than half the size of the appellation's. Below you'll find the Premiers Crus available, both white and red.