Red Burgundy Vintage

Question 1

Red Burgundy

Excellent Vintages: 1970s

Answer 1

1971, ‘76, ‘78

Question 2

Red Burgundy

Excellent Vintages: 1980s

Answer 2

1983*, ‘85, ‘88/89

Question 3

Red Burgundy

Disaster Vintages: 1990s

Answer 3

1992

Question 4

Red Burgundy

Excellent Vintages: 1990s

Answer 4

1990, ‘93, ‘96, ‘98, ‘99

Question 5

1978 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 5

Legendary Vintage - started out rainy, but an excellent dry-spell completed ripening just before harvest

Question 6

1981 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 6

Poor Vintage - Small yields and low quality

Question 7

1982 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 7

Good Vintage - Past-Maturity
•Large yields caused problems during harvest with space, many sacrificed color and time in the vat for the next lot of grapes

Question 8

1983 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 8

Excellent Vintage - Some brilliant wines were made
•Hail in August between Chambolle and Vosne, followed by rain, then a heatwave caused rot
•Those who sorted properly made spectacular wines

Question 9

1984 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 9

Disaster Vintage - Cold summer, rainy harvest

Question 10

1985 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 10

Outstanding Vintage

•Non-Grand Cru wines have faded by now

Question 11

1986 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 11

Tricky Vintage - wet, humid

•Perfect decision-making turned into gems, most of which are past-maturity now

Question 12

1987 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 12

Tricky Vintage - the best wines were light and matured quickly
•Heavy rainfall, cool temperatures, alternating with dry, warm periods

Question 13

1988 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 13

Excellent Vintage - Classic, long-lived wines with good depth of fruit

Question 14

1989 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 14

Excellent Vintage - More charming than 1990 counterparts

Question 15

1990 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 15

Legendary Vintage - Deeply colored, full-bodied and fruity wines
•The only criticism to these wines is that the fruit is a little cooked; hence the wines taste more of 1990 than they do of their origins

Question 16

1991 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 16

Tricky Vintage - Well structured with plenty of fruit and grip
•Underrated

• Hot, dry summer with a severe hailstorm on August 22nd
• Harvest was bookended by rain, but there was a small window of dry weather–those who picked then made very good wines

Question 17

1992 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 17

Poor Vintage - Rainy harvest

•Some soft, tender wines were made

Question 18

1993 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 18

Excellent Vintage - Classic Wines

•Underrated vintage that produced excellent wines

Question 19

1994 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 19

Tricky Vintage - Heavy rain in mid-September

•The best examples are soft, elegant, medium-bodied wines which are very pure expressions of Pinot Noir

Question 20

1995 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 20

Good Vintage - Dark-fruited wines bolstered by good acidity and firm but supple tannins
•Softer than the ’93s and lack the purity of the ’96s

Question 21

1996 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 21

Excellent Vintage - More elegant than the 1995s with higher acidity
•The rare combination of high levels of ripeness and high levels of acidity

Question 22

1997 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 22

Good Vintage - Charming, ripe wines

•Lower acidity than the 1996s, lack the staying power of ‘96 and ‘98

Question 23

1998 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 23

Excellent Vintage - Dark colors, elevated tannins

•These wines may lack the fruit to contend with extended aging ability of the tannins

Question 24

1999 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 24

Legendary Vintage - Exceptional quality and quantity

•Powerful, charming and well balanced with great concentration

Question 25

2000 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 25

Average Vintage - intense aromas and lush succulence on the palace
•Lower acidity and tannins than the 1999 counterparts

Question 26

2001 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 26

Very Good to Excellent Vintage - Classically styled, with pure fruit
•Volnay hailstorm

Question 27

2002 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 27

Very Good to Excellent Vintage - Pure, precise wines that are classically styled

Question 28

2003 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 28

Poor Vintage - Heat Wave

•Some great wines were made

Question 29

2004 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 29

Good Vintage - Puzzling Vintage for many
•The wines were lighter, perfumed and pure

•August Hail - Volnay, Pommard–both were the worst affected; resulting in concentrated wines with unusually high sugar levels

*Some consumers are more averse to ladybug aromas

Question 30

2005 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 30

Legendary Vintage? - Powerful, rich but fresh wines, with ripe tannins
•The wines are quite closed
•Skin to juice ratio was very high due to the dry conditions

Question 31

2006 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 31

Very Good Vintage - Good freshness, ripeness and concentration, but very pure wines

• Variable weather and fears of rain at harvest
• Hail (July) - Chambolle, Gevrey

Question 32

2007 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 32

Good Vintage - Fruity, generous wines with low tannins
•Producers were forced to harvest due to sugar levels, but the grapes lacked the phenolics they had hoped
•Colder weather all season long developed grapes with very thin skins

Question 33

2008 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 33

Good Vintage - Lively, elegant and a purity of fruit
•Cool, wet and miserable until mid-June
•Coulure, mildew and hail

Question 34

2009 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 34

Excellent Vintage - Ripe, fleshy wines with soft acidity
•Compared to 1999 or 1990

•Severe frost in Dec ‘09 killed some vines

Question 35

2010 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 35

Excellent Vintage - Classic wines

•Very small crops and clusters, had there not been an issue with yields the berries probably wouldn’t have ripened

Question 36

2011 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 36

Very Good Vintage - Soft and pretty wines
•Not as exceptional as ‘09 or ‘10
•Hail in the Cote de Beaune

Question 37

2012 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 37

Very Good Vintage - Classic wines
•Hail, coulure, mildew and oidium
•Excellent weather in August and September

Question 38

2013 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 38

Good Vintage - Lively, pure wines
•Hail in the Cote de Beaune
•Rot issues but a warm September

Question 39

2014 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 39

Good Vintage - Elegant, lively, lighter-styled wines
•Hail in the Cote de Beaune
•Asian fruit fly problem this year

Question 40

2015 Red Burgundy Vintage

Answer 40

Very Good Vintage - Rich, weighty wines but better transparency than 2009
•Alcohol levels may be an issue
•Acid levels are crucial