I disagree - it may not be a 1st growth but it was hailed as one of the wines of the vintage, to gigantic fanfare, hyperbole and everything in between. The lesser growths, throughout history, have often outshone the top flight wines. One example for me, amongst many others, was the '86 GPL - I had several bottles and they were truly magnificent, singing from the rafters, making supposedly better wines from that vintage look quite average.
Never really a hyped wine⌠(just look at Parkerâs 92 points in-bottle score in 1992). But recently it gets some better scores, maybe you guys should pop one last bottle before auctioning off your stash.
Basically every bottle of Merchant bottled old bordeaux and Burgundy. Berry Bros, Vandermeulen, D. Sanders, etc⌠Ive had a bunch and maybe think its a sanitary issue in the bottling process. Most of them smell bad.
While I think 1990 is generally a good vintage in many regions, it was one of the first in my wine evolution where riper fruit constituted a big part of the hype. Over the years, in most regions I came to personally prefer the 1989 vintage(Champagne being an exception, although I have enjoyed wines from both vintages there).
That said, 13.64 for abv in the modern world is, at best, mid-range for alcohol. And the vast majority of wines produced in Australia, California, Washington, much of Italy, and Spain are routinely much higher abvs. Even most Austrian Riesling of the Smaragd weight is probably over that.
Just about every bottle of 96` Krug has been oxidized over the past 5-6 years and these have come from different sources as well as my own cellar. It was Staggering Plus up until then as one of our champagne guys rates. These have been Disappointing Minus.
Sure, but this was not the modern world! This was when e.g. 1990 Ducru Beaucaillou was 12.1% and the 1990 La Mission 12.0%, after chaptalization. It doesnât seem so high today, but it was definitely an outlier back thenâjust as the wine is proving to be a stylistic outlier in the history of La Chapelle.
The pH is also really low given that, for example, Robert Michelâs 1990 Cornas came out at over pH 4 in the 1990 vintage. Admittedly, Jaboulet destemmed and Robert Michel did not, but stillâŚ
An interesting point, and until recently I might have agreed with you, but last year I bought a bunch of 1982 BDX that had never moved from a cold cellar in Alsace, and it made me think that many disappointing 1982s are that way because they have travelled too much. Iâm increasingly convinced that the reputation of the vintage meant that it was commoditized and traded all over the world, to the detriment of the wines. From my cellar in France, the Ducru Beaucaillou I have still tastes around a decade from full maturity! And even the glorious Pichon Lalande, which several commentators say is on the downslope, is nowhere near any kind of decline.
I have had some great merchant-bottled wines. In the UK, the Grants of St James and the Army & Navy Stores (who bottled 1945 de VogßÊ Musigny among other things) can be really good. The BBR bottlings always seem a bit soft and round to me, and I disagree with people who claim the BBR 1961 Palmer is better than the Château bottling.
Well, the case I was drinking from was anything but at 20 years + on 3 separate occasions - thatâs why it was sold. Also, donât tell me that 3 random bottles were all problematic and the rest wouldâve been fine. The wine, like all my wines, are stored from merchant receipt in an ancient bellow ground cellar that never moves either side of 16 degrees C.
Agreed! I think you also recently mentioned that the 82 Mouton was 11.5%. Itâs just a reminder that global warming/modern viticulture/picking very ripe fruit is creating a vastly different base line for what we see in wines today.
I started tasting with wines in the 1980s, and some in the 70s, and the feel and weight of those wines was drastically different (in my opinion) but flavors werenât typically green. I think the 1990(considered a warm vintage at the time) wines you mentioned have alcohols that would easily be classed as low alcohol today. And in many regions almost impossible to achieve, and many winemakers would consider the fruit lesser for coming in at the Brix they would have harvested at. I am speculating so this is a musing rather than a statement, but what a dramatic shift. My first vintage in the Willamette Valley was 2002, and while we consider ourselves cool climate, my wines that year were close to 14%.
In the past two decades(almost) as I was pushing for lower alcohols(without using water or reverse osmosis to achieve it) I have had push back from most of my growers on choosing farming techniques that challenge the plants in order to lower Brix levels but still have time for the fruit to ripen. But less than 30 years ago, this is the norm for the greatest regions in France(the ones we all claim to have been inspired by).
And if Jaboulet destemmed and Robert Michel did not 3.38 vs 4.0 seems well within the shift stems would cause.
Itâs great to have your knowledge on the boards, and I definitely appreciate you sharing.
And yes, I agree, itâs a huge shift. If the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s in France were defined by big shifts in viticultural and winemaking practices (e.g. average yield at top MĂŠdoc properties before 1961 was below 20 hl/ha; by the 1970s, it was 40 hl/ha), then the turn of the millennium was arguably defined more by changing tastes.
What is so interesting about Burgundy in the last few years is that people are really rethinking viticulture quite radically for the first time in several generations.
I co-sign what Marcus said, William. And I also am very fascinated by his point on how to push for lower alcohols with modern techniques. Boy, is it a dream of mine to one day taste ânewâ Californian wines that truly echo the legendary 1970s, particularly with lower alcohol.
As I was born in 1982, my father bought many cases on Futures and they havenât moved from North Carolina since they arrived. Iâve found them delightful these last few years. I have now drunk the Calon Segur, Leoville Barton, and (via the kindness of Kelly Walker) a Trotanoy in the past 3 months and I have found them all to be full of energy.
Marcus or WilliamâŚany thoughts on the conversion rate of modern yeasts versus older/native yeasts causing at least some of the increase in alcohols? Assuming vignerons want to make lower alcohol wines, do yeasts hinder them much?
Had an 82â Margaux at a wine dinner in Hong Kong last year and it was off. I was totally bummed out but we made up for it with other great wines that night.