Glossary
Grand Cru
In Champagne, one of 17 villages whose vineyards are rated at 100% on the old échelle des crus. Wines sourced entirely from these villages may bear the Grand Cru mention.
Grand Cru status applies to entire villages in Champagne, not to individual parcels as in Burgundy. Seventeen villages hold the classification, concentrated in the Montagne de Reims, Côte des Blancs and Vallée de la Marne.
Montagne de Reims grands crus: Ambonnay, Bouzy, Beaumont-sur-Vesle, Louvois, Mailly-Champagne, Puisieulx, Sillery, Verzenay, Verzy. Côte des Blancs grands crus: Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Oiry. Vallée de la Marne grands crus: Aÿ, Tours-sur-Marne.
To use “Grand Cru” on the label, every grape in the wine must come from a grand cru village. The échelle des crus system that ranked villages by percentage was officially retired for pricing in 2010 but the grand/premier cru labels persist.
Related terms