Cru (wine)

It is the highest level of classification of appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) wines from Burgundy or Alsace.

The same term is applied to châteaux in Saint-Émilion although in that region, it has a different meaning and does not represent the top tier of classification.

Early Burgundian wine history is distinctly marked by the work of the Cistercians with the Catholic Church being the principal vineyard owner for most of the Middle Ages.

Receiving land and vineyards as tithes, endowments and as exchanges for indulgences the monks were able to studiously observe the quality of wines from individual plots and, over time, began to isolate those areas that would consistently produce wine of similar aroma, body, color and vigor and designate them as crus.

[4] Following the success of the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, Jules Lavalle developed an informal classification of vineyards of the Côte d'Or in his book History and Statistics of the Côte d'Or.