Crus Bourgeois du Médoc Strengthen Bottle Authentication with the ValiGate® Label by the KURZ SCRIBOS brand
This initiative reflects the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc’s ongoing commitment to protecting the origin of their wines, ensuring consistency across the designation, and providing reliable information to trade partners and consumers.
The system allows each bottle to be verified and traced back to its château of origin, its vintage, and its official status as a Crus Bourgeois du Médoc wine.
Following a competitive tender process conducted in 2025, the Alliance selected the ValiGate® solution developed by the KURZ SCRIBOS brand for a two-year period.
A Core Requirement of the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc Classification
Wine authentication has been a requirement of the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc since the 2010 Classification. Authentication labels have been in use on bottles since 2012. By upgrading this system with the ValiGate® solution, the Alliance is reinforcing a fundamental pillar of its commitment: safeguarding the origin of its wines, ensuring compliance with the Classification, and guaranteeing the reliability of the information provided to the market.
Each bottle serves as a unique and verifiable point of identification, directly linking the wine to its château of origin, its vintage, and its official status within the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc Classification.
Secure, Intuitive Authentication with the Valigate® Label
The new ValiGate® label by the KURZ SCRIBOS brand has been designed to meet evolving regulatory requirements while strengthening the connection between producers and consumers. A simple scan using a smartphone enables immediate verification of a bottle’s authenticity, without the need to download a dedicated application.
Scanning the label directs users to a secure digital platform, ensuring the integrity and reliability of the information accessed. The experience is seamless and intuitive, catering to both wine professionals and informed consumers.
This solution addresses two essential objectives: providing effective protection against counterfeiting while delivering clear, verified, and easily accessible information at the point of purchase or consumption.
Extended Access to Regulatory Information and Château Content
Beyond authentication, the ValiGate® label unlocks access to a range of enriched digital content. Users can consult nutritional information and ingredient lists in line with current regulatory requirements, developed in partnership with the CIVB through its Smart Bordeaux application.
Each scan also provides access to a dedicated château profile, offering insight into the estate, its wines and vintages, as well as visual and educational content such as photographs and videos.
The objective is to offer a more complete and contextualized understanding of each wine, while reinforcing the transparency and rigor underpinning the Classification.
The Bottle as a Digital Point of Contact Between Producers and Consumers
With this initiative, the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc take a further step in the digital transformation of the wine experience. The bottle becomes an interactive point of contact, extending the tasting experience through information, education, and transparency.
This approach reflects the expectations of an increasingly connected audience, attentive to provenance, production practices, and traceability. It also enables châteaux to better communicate their identity, expertise, and collective commitment within the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc.
Official Launch at Wine Paris
The upgraded ValiGate® authentication label will be officially unveiled at Wine Paris, from February 9 to 11. Live demonstrations will be conducted directly on bottles, in the presence of representatives from the KURZ SCRIBOS brand and the Alliance of Crus Bourgeois du Médoc.
Through this development, the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc reaffirm their ambition to combine high quality standards, technological innovation, and collective responsibility—strengthening the clarity of the Classification and the confidence it inspires across international markets.
About Crus Bourgeois du Médoc
Bringing together 170 châteaux, the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc represent a collective committed to quality, consistency, and transparency. The five-year Classification, governed by strict specifications and approved by public authorities, is based on sensory evaluations, rigorous traceability, and a continuous effort to adapt to evolving consumer expectations.