Cru

The word cru comes from French and literally means a growth or a place where something grows. In the wine world it is used for a particular vineyard or a defined piece of land that has shown over time that it produces wine of special quality. The idea behind it is that this very terroir, that is to say the interplay between soil, climate and location, leaves its mark on the wine. A cru is therefore not a brand or a producer, but a named place whose reputation is tied to the land itself.

The term is used in several ways around France. In parts of Bourgogne, for instance, people speak of premier cru, named vineyards whose red wines typically have more concentration and structure than village-level wine, and which can develop over many years in the bottle. Provence is the only French region outside Bordeaux with a cru classé system, where a number of estates were given classified status in 1955 on the basis of, among other things, terroir and a long history of quality.

So when you come across cru on a label, it is a hint about origin and ambition rather than a guarantee. It tells you that the wine comes from a specially designated place, but the precise meaning shifts from region to region, so it can pay off to know which area you are dealing with.