Burgundy Vintage Flashcards
Burgundy: 1971
Fine weather; some hail in the CdB. Excellent for across the board - full, concentrated.
Burgundy: 1974, 1975
Total washout.
Burgundy: 1976
Better than the preceeding vintages; hot summer, some drought. Reds are better than whites, which oxidized quickly.
Burgundy: 1977
Rained out.
Burgundy: 1978
Excellent quality, smaller crop. Great acidity and balance.
Burgundy: 1979
Relatively temperate, troubled by severe hailstorms in Nuits, Vosne, and Chambolle. Better quality in the white wine appellations, concentrated and elegant.
Burgundy: Great vintages of the 1970’s
1971
1976 (reds)
1978
1979 (whites)
Burgundy: Disaster vintages of the 1970’s
1974, 1975, 1977
Burgundy: 1980
Plagued by cold and damp early in the season; Cote de Nuits is much better, and the reds are juicy and vigorous. Whites show poorly.
Burgundy: 1981
Troubled by hail and rain; thin, dilute.
Burgundy: 1982
Huge crop; wines are soft and pleasant, but did not age very long.
Burgundy: 1983
Hailstorms in Vosne and Champbolle, creating issues with rot; rich, ripe vintage all around. Whites are somewhat overbalanced; reds are better.
Burgundy: 1984
Thunderstorms throughout and rain at harvest. Poor and underripe.
Burgundy: 1985
Warm and very dry; Fine, ripe, vigorous wines.
Burgundy: 1986
Tricky vintage; rain and rot. Whites are better, but not necessarily great.
Burgundy: 1987
On again off again rain; ripeness was an issue.
Burgundy: 1988
A large crop in a lean, very high acid vintage. Some reds are still coming around.
Burgundy: 1989
Hot and dry, with just enough rain. Spectacularly rich whites; fruity and elegant reds.
Burgundy: Great vintages of the 1980’s
1983 (reds)
1985
1989
Burgundy: Poor vintages of the 1980’s
1981, 1984, 1987
Burgundy: 1990
High sugar, high acid, high yield, high quality. Highly regarded across the board.
Burgundy: 1991
Uneven weather with rain on and off, including at harvest. Variable.
Burgundy: 1992
High yield, lower acidity; very good whites, early maturing, supple reds.
Burgundy: 1993
Fine weather except for hail in Meursault and Puligny. Reds are ripe and very successful; whites are troubled.
Burgundy: 1994
Rain at harvest diluted the crop. Whites are better than reds, but nothing is great.
Burgundy: 1995
Small but excellent white crop; reds were lean and austere originally but are lovely now.
Burgundy: 1996
Relatively cool but sunny and dry; pure, high acid wines.
Burgundy: 1997
Hot and stormy vintage produced charming but early-maturing wines.
Burgundy: 1998
Fat and relativley low acid whites; reds are stolid.
Burgundy: 1999
Huge crop, early harvest. Powerful, charming, and balanced reds; ripe whites.
Burgundy: Great vintages of the 1990’s
1990 1992 (whites) 1993 (reds) 1995 1996 1999
Burgundy: Poor vintages of the 1990’s
1991, 1994, 1998
Burgundy: 2000
Rain at harvest diluted the Pinot Noir but the Chardonnay did well. Excellent Chablis vintage.
Burgundy: 2001
Wet and cloudy, with devastating hail in Bouzeron. Variable by producer.
Burgundy: 2002
Excellent harvest with high quantity for whites. Reds are solid and charming, if early maturing.
Burgundy: 2003
Heat wave, low yields. Some great wines by producer.
Burgundy: 2004
Mostly cloudy and cool, with devastating hailstorms in the northern Cote de Beaune. Good but not great wines; whites in particular are relatively lean and angular.
Burgundy: 2005
Perfect weather, much heralded vintage for reds; whites are opulent and perhaps a bit acid deficient.
Burgundy: 2006
Cool and wet spring, heat wave July and warm fall. Pure, expressive reds; fleshy whites (late hang time lowered acidity).
Burgundy: 2007
Warm spring, cool and dreary summer. Strict selection necessary. Good acidity in the whites. Reds are variable.
Burgundy: 2008
Difficult vintage with hail in the northern Cote de Beaune, Marsannay, and Macon/Beaujolais. High sugar, high acidity. Wines are focused and pure; some whites more richly styled.
Burgundy: 2009
Perfect weather, healthy, high quality. Akin to 2005.
Burgundy: 2010
High quality but reduced yields (up to 30%). Wines are excellent and more firmly structured than 2009.
Burgundy: 2011
Uneven weather, cold, rot. Difficult; whites are better, and reds are austere but coming around.
Burgundy: 2012
Blighted by rot and erratic weather. Very small crop but the quality is good, if rather soft.
Burgundy: 2013
Cold spring, summer rainstorms, and severe hail in the Cote de Beaune. Small but balanced crop.
Burgundy: 2014
Warm spring, cool, damp summer. Exceptional whites with great acidity; reds are on the lighter side.
Burgundy: 2015
Fine, warm weather; richer, riper wines than 2014, with lower acidity. Devastating hail in Chablis.
