What is the highest cllassification among french wine?

Answer 1

There is a "technical" classification of wines, such as "vin de table" (table wine) which are usually made of grapes from mixed origins but include the sub-category "vin de pays" (regional wine), which cannot be mixed.

There are also the "appellation d'origine contrôlée" (controlled origin) AOC wines, or the "vins de qualité supérieure" (of superior quality) VDQS wines, which are even more reglemented for origin, content and method.

As for quality classification, there is no such generic rating system, but specific ones for different regions of France, or even for different types of wine in the same region, such as the Saint-Émilion, Médoc, Sauternes, etc. separate classifications (but not Pomerol), all of them Bordeaux wines.

These classifications are usually revised every few years.

For Saint-Émilion for instance, the highest classification is "grand cru classé A", then "B", then just "grand cru classé" with no letter.

For Sauternes, the highest is "grand premier cru", "premier cru", "deuxième cru".

Burgundy wines have "grand cru" then "premier cru".