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Flashcards in Bordeaux Vintage Deck (51)
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1
Q

Bordeaux: 1959

A

Exceptional
Perfect weather - warm, sunny
Lush, easy drinking up front - much like 2009
Have aged very well, but are harder to find due to popularity and drinkability at release.

2
Q

Bordeaux: 1960

A

Abysmal

Destroyed by rain

3
Q

Bordeaux: 1961

A
Exceptional
Very warm, dry summer
Early harvest with low yields
Small, thick-skinned, deeply concentrated berries
Rich, tannic, ageworthy
4
Q

Bordeaux: 1962

A

Fair for still wine

Exceptional sweet wine

5
Q

Bordeaux: 1963

A

Abysmal
Cold, wet, rotted
Palmer declassified entire crop

6
Q

Bordeaux: 1964

A

Disaster vintage Left Bank and Sauternes

Excellent on Right Bank - harvested before devastating rains

7
Q

Bordeaux: 1965

A

Disaster vintage

8
Q

Bordeaux: 1966

A

Second best of the 1960’s
Hard and tannic on release
Still drinking well now

9
Q

Bordeaux: 1967-1969

A

1967: Light, easy-drinking, over the hill, very good in Sauternes
1968: Disaster, Wettest year since 1951
1969: Similar

10
Q

Bordeaux: Great vintages of the 1960’s

A

1961
1962 (Sauternes only)
1966 (by comparison)

11
Q

Bordeaux: Disaster vintages of the 1960’s

A
1960 
1963
1964
1965 
1968 
1969
12
Q

Bordeaux: 1970

A

Excellent
First good vintage since 1961
Big crop, heavy production

13
Q

Bordeaux: 1972-1974

A

Series of disasters

Cold, wet, rainy

14
Q

Bordeaux: 1975

A

Only fair - hard and tannic - but best of a string of bad vintages
Exceptional in sauternes

15
Q

Bordeaux: 1977

A

Disaster vintage

The other worst vintage of the decade

16
Q

Bordeaux: Great vintages of the 1970’s

A

1970

1975 (by comparison)

17
Q

Bordeaux: Disaster vintages of the 1970’s

A

1972
1973
1974
1977

18
Q

Bordeaux: 1982

A

Vintage of the century

Phenomenal, perfect weather

19
Q

Bordeaux: 1983

A

Very good for dry wines

Spectacular for sweet wines - best since 1967

20
Q

Bordeaux: 1985

A

Exceptional
Particularly good on the right bank
Elegance over power

21
Q

Bordeaux: 1986

A

Also Exceptional
Hot, very dry
“Traditional”, high-tannin

22
Q

Bordeaux: 1987

A

Worst of the 1980’s along with 1984

Harvest was totally rained out

23
Q

Bordeaux: 1988

A

Very poor and dilute red wines

Exceptional sweet wines (1st of 3 great vintages)

24
Q

Bordeaux: 1989

A

Exceptional
Very hot - hottest summer since 1949, earliest harvest since 1870’s
Big crop, lots of power, lots of fruit
Exceptional for sweet wines as well

25
Q

Bordeaux: Great vintages of the 1980’s

A
1982
1983 (especially Sauternes)
1985
1986
1988 (Sauternes only)
1989
26
Q

Bordeaux: Disaster vintages of the 1980’s

A

1984

1987

27
Q

Bordeaux: 1990

A

Exceptional - vintage of the century v. 2
Record-breaking heat, sun, and rain
Similar to 1989; slightly more well-regarded

28
Q

Bordeaux: 1991-1992

A

A series of poor years
1991, 1992: Total disaster, across the board
1993: slightly better, but not much
1994: Mediocre, but optimism led to price inflation

29
Q

Bordeaux: 1995

A

Best of the last five years
BIG CROP
hard, tannic, somewhat charmless
similar to 1975

30
Q

Bordeaux: 1996

A

Exceptional
Best since 1990, better on the Left Bank
Pure, deep, concentrated wines
Very good sweet wines as well

31
Q

Bordeaux: 1997

A

Difficult year for dry wines

Very exceptional sweet wines

32
Q

Bordeaux: 1998

A

Excellent on the right bank: similar quality to 2000 but much better QPR
Left bank washed out by rain

33
Q

Bordeaux: 1999

A

Rainy and fraught by hail

Would have been a disaster but for modern winemaking philosophy and techniques

34
Q

Bordeaux: Great vintages of the 1990’s

A

1990
1996
1997 (Sauternes only)
1998

35
Q

Bordeaux: Disaster vintages of the 1990’s

A

1991
1992
1993

36
Q

Bordeaux: 2000

A

Exceptional across the board

First great vintage for both banks since 1990

37
Q

Bordeaux: 2001

A

Spectacular for sweet wine
Right Bank very good, especially now
Left bank wines are somewhat dilute

38
Q

Bordeaux: 2002

A

“Classic” - somewhat green and underripe

But the pricing is reasonable

39
Q

Bordeaux: 2003

A

Heat Wave Vintage

Best wines are from cooler and/or more clay heavy appellations

40
Q

Bordeaux: 2004

A

Huge crop - very high yields
Ladybug vintage - some complaints of greenness
Drink now

41
Q

Bordeaux: 2005

A

Vintage of the century - exceptional across the board
Generally hot and dry with just the right amount of rain
Record upticks in price

42
Q

Bordeaux: 2006

A

Hard, tannic, and austere vintage
Good wine made through rigorous sorting
Very wet September

43
Q

Bordeaux: 2007

A

Soft, pleasant, easy drinking
Gratuitously overpriced as futures
Exceptional for sweet wine

44
Q

Bordeaux: 2008

A

Very long, cool, sunny, dry summer
Very late harvest - up to 160 days of hang time for some (v. 100 average)
First vintage to hit once the Asian market blew up

45
Q

Bordeaux: 2009

A

Exceptional across the board

Rich, opulent, well-fruited

46
Q

Bordeaux: 2010

A

Also exceptional, but more tannic, structured, less drinkable now. Very powerful. Will age.
Drought year = high extract

47
Q

Bordeaux: 2011

A

Difficult year, very small yields
Fresh and aromatic, less concentrated, drink now
Big botrytis year - excellent in Sauternes

48
Q

Bordeaux: 2012

A

Hot, dry summer delayed ripening (shutdown)
Very late harvests, affected by rain
Rigorous sorting necessary

49
Q

Bordeaux: 2013

A

Extremely difficult weather -
rainstorms, rainstorms, rainstorms, hail, wind, etc.
Very low yields - most of the crop was destroyed or unusable.

50
Q

Bordeaux: 2014

A

Better than the 3 previous years -

warm and sunny at harvest, yields are up, and the grapes are likely in better condition.

51
Q

Bordeaux: 20th Century Exceptional Vintages

A
1899
1900
1921
1928 (high tannin, austere)
1929
1934
1937 (Sauternes only)
1945
1947 (especially Right Bank)
1949
1953