The Michelin Guide has introduced a ‘Grape Selection’ rating for wine estates that has rolled out for its first region, Burgundy, but is already facing some backlash from producers.
When the Michelin Guide first announced the move, back in February 2025, it said it would “become the new reference for selection of wine producers”, with Burgundy set to be the first region to roll out, followed by Bordeaux.
Last week saw the first 94 estates recognised in the inaugural edition, which rates estates using a scale of one, two or three Michelin grapes, similar to its restaurant star system.
The criteria for the selection is based on the quality of agronomy, vineyard management, technical mastery in winemaking and long-term commitment to excellence, as well as the estate’s identity and consistency, it said.
Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Domaine Leroy, Domaine d’Auvenay, Roumier and Coche-Dury were among the nine estates awarded a three Michelin Grapes rating, but it also includes less well-known names such as Domaine Cécile Tremblay, Domaine Jean-Marc & Thomas Bouley and Hubert Lamy. As Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide, pointed out, rankings were intended to “evaluate wineries rather than simply reward famous vineyards”.
There were 20 estates named as two Michelin Grapes and 33 as one Michelin Grape, while a further 32 were commended as ‘Selected Estates’. (For the full list, see here).
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Poullennec said the diversity of profiles and expressions in the selection reflected Burgundy’s heritage as well as the diversity of approaches now shaping the region.
“This is what gives such exuberance to this first Michelin Grape Selection,” he said. “While the region remains one of the most highly structured in the world through its hierarchy of terroirs and appellations, our selection demonstrates that excellence is not defined solely by the prestige of a name. It is expressed above all through the precision of the work carried out both in the vineyard and in the cellar, and through the personality that each vintner brings to their estate in the pursuit of the highest quality.”
However, there has already been some backlash among Burgundy’s famed estates.
Arnoux Lachaux in Vosne-Romanée, which received a one Grape rating, has formally requested that it be removed from the guide, saying that since 2020, it had “deliberately chosen not to submit our wines for press reviews or ratings”.
Furthermore a statement from the company declared it did not know how the Domaine’s rating “could have been established as we have not received Michelin or presented wines to the press since the 2020 vintage.”
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