Alliance of the middle-class vintages of the Medoc

The Alliance of the middle-class vintages of the Medoc is a producers' association of Vin of Bordeaux gathering the majority of the believed middle-class distinguished by the classification from 2003. The goal of Alliance (since March 2004 chaired by Thierry Gardinier of the Castle Phélan Ségur) is the collective promotion of the members and the monitoring of the rules of the trade union.

The middle-class vintages established a charter of quality.

forwarding in bulk is prohibited.
the Setting out of bottle with the property is obligatory.
the follow-up annual downstream quality is obligatory (thus collection on places of sale and tasting to the blind man).
returned put is placed under the direction, the control and the responsibility of the producer, while waiting for his final abandonment as from the year 2005.
the wine bottles must be heavy. The reduced, light, standard bottles and of reduced tradition are prohibited.
the setting in market will have to be obligatorily posterior at January 1st of the 2nd year following harvest.

As of now of many members apply the obligatory new rules of labelling for all as from the year 2006. Consequently:

the reference to a vintage is prohibited for a Middle-class Vintage.
additions of mentions known as free and informative (old vines, high out of barrel…) are prohibited on the frontal label.
the affixing of the mention, followed by its classification is obligatory on the bottle.

The Ministerial decree of June 17th, 2003 homologous the first official classification with the middle-class vintages of the Medoc. It devotes 247 Vintages out of 490 candidates. It establishes a hierarchy according to 3 categories:

151 middle-class vintages,
87 higher middle-class vintages,
9 exceptional middle-class vintages.

Cancellation of the classification

The classification is applicable as from the year 2003 and revisable every 12 years. However, certain reclassified fields engaged an appeal to justice, and the administrative court of call of Bordeaux, on February 26th, 2007, definitively cancelled the classification of 2003, leaving the Alliance of the middle-class vintages in uncertainty.

Cancellation of the classification

Exceptional middle-class vintages

Higher middle-class vintages

Middle-class vintages

References