| Wine Tip of the Month |
| Make it a Good Year - Vintage Years |
You know if you hang out with any wine geeks or cork dorks, or spend
any time in a wine retail shop, sooner or later the conversation about the
wine you’re drinking or buying turns toward the subject of vintages. In
loose terms, a vintage is the encompassing year in which the grapes were
grown, the juices extracted and the wines were made, all in one. There
are many factors that determine whether or not a vintage will be a great
one. Weather plays the largest part and obviously, the winemaker has
absolutely no control over that and if there is a winemaker that can
manipulate the weather then I would be scared to meet them. A
winemaker’s decision on when to pick the grapes is also another factor
and this is quite a gamble. A winemaker usually wants the grapes to hang
on the vine as long as possible so that they will ripen completely before
they pick them. This gives them the highest concentration of sugar and
good juice with high acidity levels to make wine with. However, the
gamble in doing this is if it rains right before or during harvest (a term
used for the grape picking process), then the water will dilute the grapes
making the wine made from them flabby and diluted. The last factor I
guess you could say is the winemaker or grape grower and the decisions
they make with regards to how the grapes are grown and the wine is
made.
If you are someone that drinks wine for fun every so often, then my
advice to you is to not get so hung up on the question, “Was this a great
vintage or not?” An overwhelming majority of the wines available today
are made to be consumed immediately upon purchasing them. White
wine styles like Pinot Grigio and most Sauvignon Blancs do not keep
more than a year or two anyway. Beaujolais wines are supposed to be
consumed within the first year they are made. Now does this mean that
all Pinot Grigios, Sauvignon Blancs, and Beaujolais taste the same year
in and year out with no variable differences in quality? No, they have
great vintages and bad vintages like any other wine style, but since you
consume them quickly, just buy it, drink it and move on!
Now if you are someone who has a bit of an obsession with wine and love
to collect wines built for aging, or you just want to splurge on something
nice and expensive for a special occasion, then vintages should mean
everything to you! Why would you want to spend an exorbitant amount of
money on a wine that is flabby or lacks pizzazz because it was made
during a poor vintage? What if you find out that after holding onto your
prize wine for a decade, waiting for that perfect moment to open it, it has
grown tired and over-the-hill and therefore almost undrinkable?
Unfortunately it’s a lesson you just learned about ten years too late!
Be weary of the wine retail salesman who say’s, “But great winemakers
make good wines even in bad vintages!” Good wines, yes, but not great
ones! It’s true a winemaker worth his or her salt can work wonders in the
winery. Maybe the grapes lack natural acidity or sugars so they might
add a little acid or sugar during the fermentation process to counter this.
This does help tremendously, but there is no substitution for the real
doses of quality that Mother Nature gives you herself. If you’re a wine
collector and you let your wine salesman who has a surplus of 1999
Bordeaux wines that they can’t rid of, talk you out of the 2000 Chateau
Margaux and into the 1999 vintage of it, then ten years from now when
you see the difference in prices fetched for them at the wine auctions, you’
ll be moved to tears and ready to grab your shotgun and go looking for
that wine salesman!
Unfortunately there are a plethora of vintages for so many different
styles of wine in a sea of endless countries and wine regions to keep
track of and just because 2001 was a great year for California red wines
does mean that 2001 was a great year for red Bordeaux wines in France.
This makes keeping track of the all the vintage years next to impossible.
My advice to you here is to just focus on the good vintages for the wines
that you typically drink and/or collect and don’t worry about the others.
Here is a broad overview of the quality levels for the most recent
vintages for the typical wines we drink today and remember if you are
going to spend some money on the bottle of wine, why not make it a good
year?
Scores based on 100 point scale. The higher the number, the better the
vintage.
French Wine Regions
Bordeaux: Red Burgundy: Northern Rhone:
2001 – 88 2002 – 92 2001 - 87
2000 – 99 2001 – 82 2000 - 87
1999 – 83 2000 – 83 1999 - 95
1998 – 90 1999 – 90 1998 - 89
1997 – 81 1998 – 89 1997 - 86
1996 – 87 1997 – 83 1996 - 90
1995 – 95 1996 – 95 1995 – 91
Southern Rhone: White Burgundy: Alsace:
2001 – 87 2002 – 93 2001 - 91
2000 – 93 2001 – 90 2000 - 93
1999 – 87 2000 – 90 1999 - 87
1998 – 95 1999 – 88 1998 - 90
1997 – 81 1998 – 88 1997 - 89
1996 – 80 1997 – 88 1996 - 92
1995 – 88 1996 – 95 1995 – 90
Champagne: Sauternes:
1996 – 92 1997 - 92
1995 – 92 1996 - 89
1994 – 82 1995 - 87
1993 – 87 1992 - 72
1992 – 82 1991 - 77
1991 – 79 1990 - 97
1990 – 97 1989 – 98
California Wines
Cabernet Sauvignon: Merlot: Pinot Noir:
2002 – 88 2001 – 91 2001 - 94
2001 – 97 2000 – 86 2000 - 85
2000 – 87 1999 – 90 1999 - 88
1999 – 96 1998 – 85 1998 - 84
1998 – 86 1997 – 89 1997 - 88
1997 – 98 1996 – 88 1996 - 87
1996 – 94 1995 – 87 1995 – 92
Zinfandel: Chardonnay: White Zinfandel:
2001 – 90 2001 – 94 2003 - 5
2000 – 84 2000 – 88 2002 - 3
1999 – 89 1999 – 94 2001 - 4
1998 – 83 1998 – 85 2000 – 2.5 maybe 3
1997 – 90 1997 – 96 1999 - .5
1996 – 87 1996 – 97 1998 - .001
1995 – 95 1995 – 97 1997 – No rating that low!
Oregon Pinot Noir:
2001 – 94
2000 – 91
1999 – 94
1998 – 92
1997 – 84
1996 – 87
1995 – 81
Italy
Brunello di Montalcino: Piedmont: Tuscany:
1998 – 91 2001 – 94 2001 - 90
1997 – 99 2000 – 100 2000 - 87
1996 – 85 1999 – 92 1999 - 92
1995 – 91 1998 – 93 1998 - 88
1994 – 82 1997 – 99 1997 - 99
1993 – 90 1996 – 98 1996 - 87
1992 – 76 1995 – 87 1995 – 85
Germany White Wines: Portugal Port Wines:
2001 – 98 2000 - 99
2000 – 82 1997 - 96
1999 – 90 1995 - 90
1998 – 89 1994 - 99
1997 – 88 1992 - 94
1996 – 89 1991 - 93
1995 – 88 1987 - 88
any time in a wine retail shop, sooner or later the conversation about the
wine you’re drinking or buying turns toward the subject of vintages. In
loose terms, a vintage is the encompassing year in which the grapes were
grown, the juices extracted and the wines were made, all in one. There
are many factors that determine whether or not a vintage will be a great
one. Weather plays the largest part and obviously, the winemaker has
absolutely no control over that and if there is a winemaker that can
manipulate the weather then I would be scared to meet them. A
winemaker’s decision on when to pick the grapes is also another factor
and this is quite a gamble. A winemaker usually wants the grapes to hang
on the vine as long as possible so that they will ripen completely before
they pick them. This gives them the highest concentration of sugar and
good juice with high acidity levels to make wine with. However, the
gamble in doing this is if it rains right before or during harvest (a term
used for the grape picking process), then the water will dilute the grapes
making the wine made from them flabby and diluted. The last factor I
guess you could say is the winemaker or grape grower and the decisions
they make with regards to how the grapes are grown and the wine is
made.
If you are someone that drinks wine for fun every so often, then my
advice to you is to not get so hung up on the question, “Was this a great
vintage or not?” An overwhelming majority of the wines available today
are made to be consumed immediately upon purchasing them. White
wine styles like Pinot Grigio and most Sauvignon Blancs do not keep
more than a year or two anyway. Beaujolais wines are supposed to be
consumed within the first year they are made. Now does this mean that
all Pinot Grigios, Sauvignon Blancs, and Beaujolais taste the same year
in and year out with no variable differences in quality? No, they have
great vintages and bad vintages like any other wine style, but since you
consume them quickly, just buy it, drink it and move on!
Now if you are someone who has a bit of an obsession with wine and love
to collect wines built for aging, or you just want to splurge on something
nice and expensive for a special occasion, then vintages should mean
everything to you! Why would you want to spend an exorbitant amount of
money on a wine that is flabby or lacks pizzazz because it was made
during a poor vintage? What if you find out that after holding onto your
prize wine for a decade, waiting for that perfect moment to open it, it has
grown tired and over-the-hill and therefore almost undrinkable?
Unfortunately it’s a lesson you just learned about ten years too late!
Be weary of the wine retail salesman who say’s, “But great winemakers
make good wines even in bad vintages!” Good wines, yes, but not great
ones! It’s true a winemaker worth his or her salt can work wonders in the
winery. Maybe the grapes lack natural acidity or sugars so they might
add a little acid or sugar during the fermentation process to counter this.
This does help tremendously, but there is no substitution for the real
doses of quality that Mother Nature gives you herself. If you’re a wine
collector and you let your wine salesman who has a surplus of 1999
Bordeaux wines that they can’t rid of, talk you out of the 2000 Chateau
Margaux and into the 1999 vintage of it, then ten years from now when
you see the difference in prices fetched for them at the wine auctions, you’
ll be moved to tears and ready to grab your shotgun and go looking for
that wine salesman!
Unfortunately there are a plethora of vintages for so many different
styles of wine in a sea of endless countries and wine regions to keep
track of and just because 2001 was a great year for California red wines
does mean that 2001 was a great year for red Bordeaux wines in France.
This makes keeping track of the all the vintage years next to impossible.
My advice to you here is to just focus on the good vintages for the wines
that you typically drink and/or collect and don’t worry about the others.
Here is a broad overview of the quality levels for the most recent
vintages for the typical wines we drink today and remember if you are
going to spend some money on the bottle of wine, why not make it a good
year?
Scores based on 100 point scale. The higher the number, the better the
vintage.
French Wine Regions
Bordeaux: Red Burgundy: Northern Rhone:
2001 – 88 2002 – 92 2001 - 87
2000 – 99 2001 – 82 2000 - 87
1999 – 83 2000 – 83 1999 - 95
1998 – 90 1999 – 90 1998 - 89
1997 – 81 1998 – 89 1997 - 86
1996 – 87 1997 – 83 1996 - 90
1995 – 95 1996 – 95 1995 – 91
Southern Rhone: White Burgundy: Alsace:
2001 – 87 2002 – 93 2001 - 91
2000 – 93 2001 – 90 2000 - 93
1999 – 87 2000 – 90 1999 - 87
1998 – 95 1999 – 88 1998 - 90
1997 – 81 1998 – 88 1997 - 89
1996 – 80 1997 – 88 1996 - 92
1995 – 88 1996 – 95 1995 – 90
Champagne: Sauternes:
1996 – 92 1997 - 92
1995 – 92 1996 - 89
1994 – 82 1995 - 87
1993 – 87 1992 - 72
1992 – 82 1991 - 77
1991 – 79 1990 - 97
1990 – 97 1989 – 98
California Wines
Cabernet Sauvignon: Merlot: Pinot Noir:
2002 – 88 2001 – 91 2001 - 94
2001 – 97 2000 – 86 2000 - 85
2000 – 87 1999 – 90 1999 - 88
1999 – 96 1998 – 85 1998 - 84
1998 – 86 1997 – 89 1997 - 88
1997 – 98 1996 – 88 1996 - 87
1996 – 94 1995 – 87 1995 – 92
Zinfandel: Chardonnay: White Zinfandel:
2001 – 90 2001 – 94 2003 - 5
2000 – 84 2000 – 88 2002 - 3
1999 – 89 1999 – 94 2001 - 4
1998 – 83 1998 – 85 2000 – 2.5 maybe 3
1997 – 90 1997 – 96 1999 - .5
1996 – 87 1996 – 97 1998 - .001
1995 – 95 1995 – 97 1997 – No rating that low!
Oregon Pinot Noir:
2001 – 94
2000 – 91
1999 – 94
1998 – 92
1997 – 84
1996 – 87
1995 – 81
Italy
Brunello di Montalcino: Piedmont: Tuscany:
1998 – 91 2001 – 94 2001 - 90
1997 – 99 2000 – 100 2000 - 87
1996 – 85 1999 – 92 1999 - 92
1995 – 91 1998 – 93 1998 - 88
1994 – 82 1997 – 99 1997 - 99
1993 – 90 1996 – 98 1996 - 87
1992 – 76 1995 – 87 1995 – 85
Germany White Wines: Portugal Port Wines:
2001 – 98 2000 - 99
2000 – 82 1997 - 96
1999 – 90 1995 - 90
1998 – 89 1994 - 99
1997 – 88 1992 - 94
1996 – 89 1991 - 93
1995 – 88 1987 - 88
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