Vintages Flashcards
Chablis: best vintages of the 2000’s to now?
2002: concentrated, classic.
2005: large crop. Rich but balanced, fantastic year.
2010: tricky season. Warm with some storms - mineral, dense rich.
2014: Dense, classic & age worthy.
2017: traumatic frost but what’s left is fantastic.
Chablis: worst vintages of the 2000’s to now?
2001: cold, wet year with botrytis
2003: too hot. Low acidity, low typicity
2006: hot summer, early humid wet harvest
2011: cool, rainy
2013: late cool growing season, humid September
2016: double frost
Chablis: 2019
Wet spring followed by a warm dry summer going into an ideal harvest. These wines are similar to 2018, but perhaps with a bit more tension, acidity and terroir expression.
Chablis: 2018
Round and fleshy wines with lower acidity, these are wines to enjoy young. Following 2 traumatic vintages, 2018 was a blessing with a solid & abundant crop that refilled cellars and saw a lot of good wine go to distilleries.
Chablis: 2017
Mid-April cold brought devastating frost - but what fruit remained was subject to warm and dry weather with harvest in ideal conditions. This was a stellar year with outstanding, energetic tension-filled wines
Chablis: 2016
April 26/27 and May 14/15 brought frost - worst start to the season. The rest of the season was warm, but many wines lack character and terroir. This is a vintage to be enjoyed in youth.
Chablis: 2015
A warm, sunny year. These are big, broad shouldered wines - minerality, acidity and concentration.
Chablis: 2014
This was an awesome year! A very classic year.
Dense, complex, aromatic and saline. This was a cooler year, similar to the years preceding - but the wines are above par.
Chablis: 2013
A late, cool growing season with a humid, wet September and October.. this was a year for botrytis.
Chablis: 2012
A short crop in a good year.
Clean, concentrated fruit with considerable terroir character, excellent acidity and enough backbone for aging.
Chablis: 2011
An acid-driven vintage, lots of cool rainy weather in August and September. Wines that were cropped high lack intensity and depth.
Chablis: 2010
Intense, mineral, complex wines with firm backbone and dense extract. Overall a very good year.
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2019
Highly rated. Warm year. Vibrant and linear, not opulent or bombastic. Both did very well in 2019, although some Pomerol became overripe, lacking focus.
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2018
Rich and heady, a notch below “epic”. Driest summer in 50 years and quite warm. A strong vintage on both Banks, but Bourg & Blaye did experience hail. The hierarchy of sites is visible through the lens of this year.
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2017
Devastating spring frost, uneven weather and variable quality. St-Julien was the Left Bank winner, although the Right Bank overall fared a little better.
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2016
Remarkable on both Banks. Balance, strong tannins but harmonious. Bright acid-driven wines. Merlot and CF on the Right Bank felt the heat - polished and sensual wines there. St-Julien was the star of the Left, St-Estephe saw some mixed quality thanks to northern rains.
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2015
A very warm, dry year. Opulent with intense fruit and voluptuous texture. Margaux and St-Julien were the stars. Some RB wines were freakishly concentrated - ripe, pruny and high ABV. Fronsac was one to pay attention to.
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2014
a late-ripening year that saw more success with Cabernet than Merlot. Finest vintage since 2010. It was a wet summer, but a warm September and October saved the vintage. Haut-Medoc, Pauillac, St-Estephe and P-L did best on the Left, Pomerol on the right.
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2013
Massive storms and huge flooding rains followed by a warm and dry August/September to salvage something from the vintage. Late ripening year, benefiting Cab more than Merlot.
August 2 hail wiped out Entre-Deux-Mers and Cote de Castillon.
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2012
So, so. Forward, fruit-driven wines to drink young. Poor weather, start to finish. Pessac did best, thanks to a generally warmer microclimate and higher percentages of Merlot. Pomerol was a bit more consistent than St-E and the Right Bank generally did a little better than the Left, thanks to Merlot
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2011
A very difficult year with tough tannins, mediocre balance. Hot spring, cold summer = uneven ripening and unpolished tannin. A Sept 10 massive storm complicated harvest. The Right Bank did best, especially Pomerol but St-E saw a lot of variability.
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2010
Superb! Dry extract, high tannin, great acid. A very classic, age worthy vintage - one for the cellar. Both Banks were stellar.
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2009
A vintage to compare to 1947, 1961, 2005.
Flamboyant, opulent, so ripe. There was more sugar and concentration than 2003 and 2005, but enough diurnal shifts throughout the season to balance the wines. Pomerol was the Right Ban star.
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2008
A damp season with a warm and dry Aug/Sept to ripen everything. The Right Bank produced more flesh and volume than the Left Bank; Pomerol did best. St Emilion and Cotes de Castillon were hit by a hail storm that made quality variable.
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2007
Early drinking, at best. Mildew, cold summer and too much rain well into September - not a great year for either Cab nor Merlot.
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2006
Earlier season saw high temperatures and drought, later season brought rain and cold. It rained during harvest - this was a vintage to choose carefully. Pauillac and Pessac fared best, but the rest are largely irregular in quality.
Left & Right Bank Bordeaux: 2005
Magical. This was a breakout vintage - the richest and most opulent to date (although this would afterwards become more normal). Stunning across the board on both sides of the bank.