The AOC pyramid, in detail
France's quality system (AOC/AOP) is a nested pyramid: the more precisely a wine names its origin, the tighter the rules and — in theory — the higher the quality. The same vineyard can be sold at several levels.
REGIONAL
e.g. 'Bourgogne'
DISTRICT / VILLAGE
e.g. 'Gevrey-Chambertin'
PREMIER CRU
named vineyard
GRAND CRU
the single greatest plots
◉
Narrower = stricter
Climbing the pyramid tightens permitted grapes, yields and methods. A village wine has looser rules than a Grand Cru from within that same village.