White Burgundy Vintage

Question 1

White Burgundy

Excellent Vintages: 2000s

Answer 1

2000, ‘04/05, ‘07, ‘10, ‘14/15

Question 2

1986 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 2

Excellent Vintage - Aromatically rich and ripe wines with considerable finesse and elegance

Question 3

1987 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 3

Poor Vintage - too cold to produce fully ripe grapes

•Bouchard Père et Fils was prosecuted for illegally chaptalizing and acidifying wines from this vintage

Question 4

1988 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 4

Average Vintage - Most wines were lean and astringent
•Large yields
•Quality conscious growers who severely restricted yields produced good wines

Question 5

1989 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 5

Excellent Vintage - Full-bodied, rich and opulent wines
•Elevated alcohols and low acidity across the board required more extract to balance the wines–stick to wines higher up the quality scale than village

Question 6

1990 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 6

Very Good Vintage - Very ripe fruit, but yields were too high to produce compelling wines across the board
•Just shy of “great”

Question 7

1991 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 7

Poor Vintage - Rain reduced acidity and concentration, but some were delightful

Question 8

1992 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 8

Excellent Vintage - Balanced, elegant and complex wines

•There is talk of some of the wines lacking acidity

Question 9

1993 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 9

Excellent Vintage - Overshadowed by the opulent 1992s and 1994s, the 1993s turned out to have more staying power
•Final vintage of Musigny Blanc

Question 10

1994 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 10

Excellent Vintage - Round, plump wines, many are lacking in acidity for the long-haul

Question 11

1995 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 11

Excellent Vintage - Excellent depth of fruit, super ripeness

•Cold weather in June caused coulure, slashing some quantities by 50%

Question 12

1996 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 12

Excellent Vintage - Purity, clarity, highly concentrated ripe fruit and lively acidity

Question 13

1997 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 13

Great Vintage - Rich, ripe wines with good structure but short on acidity for the long-haul
•Drink now
•They resemble the lauded 1992s but more finesse

Question 14

1998 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 14

Good Vintage - Exotic, ripe fruit bouquet, concentrated but lack the purity and definition of the 1996s

Question 15

1999 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 15

Excellent Vintage - A large, beautiful crop with freshness and elegance in their full-bodied, rich concentrated flavors

Question 16

2000 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 16

Excellent Vintage - More classically fine and elegant than the ripe 1999s

Question 17

2001 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 17

Good Vintage - Variable wines and weather

•Good growers produced good wines

Question 18

2002 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 18

Good Vintage - Exceptional fruit and freshness and balanced acidity

Question 19

2003 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 19

Tricky Vintage - The wines are good, rich and early-drinking.
•The longer the wines spent in barrel the more stable and typical of their appellation they became, sloughing off the initial over-opulence of the vintage

*Heatwave

Question 20

2004 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 20

Very Good to Excellent Vintage - High acid, angular styles of wine in youth
•Many claim that the wines lack the stuffing for the long-haul

*Poor vintage for Chablis, rain bloated crop

Question 21

2005 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 21

Very Good to Great Vintage - Highly concentrated wines that are very full

*Hail - a great deal of damage in Chassagne and Santenay

Question 22

2006 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 22

Very Good to Great Vintage - Fresh, elevated-acid wines with good fruit and plenty of flesh
•Harvest date was set for 18th of Sept. but some of the best known growers (Lafon and Ente) asked for special permission to pick early

Question 23

2007 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 23

Great to Excellent Vintage - A classic vintage with searingly fresh acidity, clarity of fruit and good potential to age

*No rot issues

Question 24

2008 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 24

Good to Great Vintage - A combination of richness and fresh acidity due to the late sunshine and cold breezes

*Hail - very bad in Meursault, Pouilly-Fuissé, and the Maconnais
•Rot issues in the vineyards

Question 25

2009 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 25

Good Vintage - Forward, juicy whites but lack the acidity for the long-haul in most cases
•Top producers (Coche) made some of his best wines

Question 26

2010 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 26

Excellent Vintage - Structured for the long-haul

*Hail - Meursault, with some rot

Question 27

2011 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 27

Tricky Vintage - A vintage for those who prefer elegance and purity to power and concentration

Question 28

2012 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 28

Very Good (but very tricky) Vintage - A very challenging growing season produce surprisingly good wines, but miniature quantities

• Frost - Chablis, Chassagne
• Hail (a number of storms) - Everything south of Meursault
• Rot issues as well

Question 29

2013 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 29

Good Vintage - Very small quantities, of lean to ripe wines

*Rot issues

Question 30

2014 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 30

Excellent Vintage - Good acidity with fleshy wines

*Hail - June 28th, huge damage: Volnay, Pommard, Meursault, and Beaune

Question 31

2015 White Burgundy Vintage

Answer 31

Excellent Vintage - Richly fruited wines, ripe apricot and peaches, fairly high alcohols but very favourable acidity