Champagne Vintage

Question 1

Champagne

Excellent Vintages: 1980s

Answer 1

1982, ‘85, ‘88, ‘89

Question 2

Champagne

Disaster Vintages: 1990s

Answer 2

1991-‘94

Question 3

Champagne

Excellent Vintages: 1990s

Answer 3

1990, ‘95-‘98

Question 4

Champagne

Disaster Vintages: 2000s

Answer 4

2001, ‘03

Question 5

Champagne

Excellent Vintages: 2000s

Answer 5

2002, ‘04, ‘08

Question 6

Champagne

Excellent Vintages: 2010s

Answer 6

2012/13, ‘15

Question 7

1980 Champagne Vintage

Answer 7

Poor Vintage

Question 8

1981 Champagne Vintage

Answer 8

Poor Vintage

Question 9

1982 Champagne Vintage

Answer 9

Legendary Vintage - rich, complex wines with plenty of structure

Question 10

1983 Champagne Vintage

Answer 10

Excellent Vintage - overshadowed by the success of ‘82

Question 11

1984 Champagne Vintage

Answer 11

Poor Vintage - Cold, wet and miserable

Question 12

1985 Champagne Vintage

Answer 12

Legendary Vintage - Concentrated and balanced wines

Question 13

1986 Champagne Vintage

Answer 13

Average Vintage - Variable quality
•Required draconian selection
•Rain and rot were serious issues

Question 14

1987 Champagne Vintage

Answer 14

Poor Vintage - Rainy summer

•Grey rot issues

Question 15

1988 Champagne Vintage

Answer 15

Legendary Trio of Vintages - Powerful, firm, classic wines

•Required more time than ‘89 or ‘90

Question 16

1989 Champagne Vintage

Answer 16

Legendary Trio of Vintages - Forward, fleshy and seductive

Question 17

1990 Champagne Vintage

Answer 17

Legendary Trio of Vintages - Harmonious, structured wines

•Warm summer resulted in a second crop

Question 18

1991 Champagne Vintage

Answer 18

Poor Vintage - a NV-vintage

•Early frost and rain 10 days before harvest

Question 19

1992 Champagne Vintage

Answer 19

Good year-Poor wines
•This was the first year that saw the implementation of measures to ensure that yields and the size of crops were curtailed
•Fruit was left on the vine or ground in many cases

*The measures were created for the semi-collapse of the market

Question 20

1993 Champagne Vintage

Answer 20

Poor Vintage - Few vintage wines from draconian selection
•Excellent growing season, but the heavens opened and drenched the vineyards as harvest began and lasted until every last grape was in
•Louis Roederer rejected 50% of their harvest to make the top wine

Question 21

1994 Champagne Vintage

Answer 21

Poor Vintage - copy-cat of 1993

•Rainy as hell during harvest

Question 22

1995 Champagne Vintage

Answer 22

Legendary Vintage - Powerful, firm, classic wines

•Some issues of rot which may be the cause of pre-mature development

Question 23

1996 Champagne Vintage

Answer 23

Legendary Vintage - Full and rich with an excellent backbone of acidity
•For both PN and Chard

Question 24

1997 Champagne Vintage

Answer 24

Very Good Vintage - Many wines are still fresh and delicous, while others are surprisingly mature
•Spring frost and rain into an Indian summer

Question 25

1998 Champagne Vintage

Answer 25

Excellent Vintage - Quality was shunned initially but the vintage’s reputation has grown exponentially since release
•Bouts of heat waves and torrential rains

Question 26

1999 Champagne Vintage

Answer 26

Good Vintage - Wines with low levels of acidity

•Gosset, Pol Roger and Krug did very well

Question 27

2000 Champagne Vintage

Answer 27

Average Vintage - Overly ripe, lacking acidity or character

•A large number of producers could not resist the allure of the triple zero vintage tag

Question 28

2001 Champagne Vintage

Answer 28

Disaster Vintage - Worst vintage in living memory

Question 29

2002 Champagne Vintage

Answer 29

Legendary Vintage - Plush fruit with keen acidity

•Perfect gorwing season, capped by a dry harvest

Question 30

2003 Champagne Vintage

Answer 30

Poor Vintage

•Sprint frost allowed the hot summer to produce small volumes of overripe wines

Question 31

2004 Champagne Vintage

Answer 31

Excellent Vintage - Well-balanced wines with very high yields have exceed expectations
•Similar to 1998 both in style and reputation

Question 32

2005 Champagne Vintage

Answer 32

Average Vintage - Full, concentrated wines that don’t have the acidity to carry themselves

Question 33

2006 Champagne Vintage

Answer 33

Very Good Vintage - Ripe wines with the freshness and finesse that was missing from the 2005s

Question 34

2007 Champagne Vintage

Answer 34

Average Vintage - Chard outperformed Pinot; elevated acidity
•Warm spring with early flowering
•Rain all summer long

Question 35

2008 Champagne Vintage

Answer 35

Excellent Vintage - Fresh acidity and balanced ripeness
•Difficult, damp year with widespread mildew
•Saved by warm conditions before harvest

Question 36

2009 Champagne Vintage

Answer 36

Good Vintage - Generous, fruity wines that lack the acidity for the long-haul

Question 37

2010 Champagne Vintage

Answer 37

Average Vintage - Not vintage quality, but an excellent base for NV blends

Question 38

2011 Champagne Vintage

Answer 38

Poor Vintage - Erratic weather and problematic harvest

Question 39

2012 Champagne Vintage

Answer 39

Legendary Vintage - Balanced wines with harmonious acidity
•Best Pinot vintage since 1952
•Hail - low yields

Question 40

2013 Champagne Vintage

Answer 40

Excellent Vintage - Similar to 1988

•Chardonnay was king

Question 41

2014 Champagne Vintage

Answer 41

Very Good - Initial reports suggest balanced fruit
•Damp, cool August
•Saved by warm, dry September

Question 42

2015 Champagne Vintage

Answer 42

Excellent Vintage - Initial reports indicate richness will be the main character of the vintage, with Pinot Noir fairing particularly well
•Rain the final week of harvest, but many of the grapes were already in