I know this is an extremely early call, but I’ve been really surprised by 2017 Burgundy. After a few examples that were watery and thin, I was ready to mostly ignore the descriptions as a “giving, early-drinking vintage”. But over the past couple of months I’ve been really impressed by a few selections, especially well-produced Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise examples. I think it’s a really producer-dependent vintage (they all are, I guess) in that after the extremely low yields of '15 & '16, a lot of domaines let the bumper crops come in to ensure lots of wine went out, diluting the quality and letting a year that trends towards leanness emphasize the negatives rather than coax out the high points.
I’m curious to see the future of the 17s, and I hope they remain an affordable “lost vintage” between the 16s (which I also think will be great) and the 18s (reading about them here, who knows?).
I think 2004 is a great classic vintage - I’ve been drinking Pontet Canet and Gruaud Larose for years, and they’ve been very enjoyable. It’s not a great vintage, but a very solid one (and priced pretty well).
I thought a lot of the reds at Paulee were quite charming, actually, and some producers did quite well. It was 2017 whites I was mostly disappointed by (though 2017 Chablis is great).
In Bordeaux, I agree about 2001, which I would say is better than 2004 with one or two exceptions (Léo-Barton for example). I would add 2002, which was totally overlooked when it came out. Personally I prefer 02 to 04 but I’m quibbling. I haven’t had enough 07s yet but those I have had have been fun.
In the Loire, so far I’ve been surprised by how good most 08s are.
I think of 2014 as similar in style to 2010 but not as good. My guess is that this will always be the case. I happen to really like this style and so would not be shocked if I end up liking 2014 more than say 2009, but I will be surprised if I ever like it as much as 2010 (or 2016). Time will tell.
I was not that impressed when I tasted 2012s from the barrel in Burgundy in 2013. Certainly rich, but did not impress me that much overall. Over time, I have liked the few I (or a friend) have opened and in a few years I may list this as a surprise vintage. It will be interesting how similar or different 2009, 2012 and 2015 turn out to be. I would assume 1999 on the upside and 2002 on the downside (not that 2002 is that much of a downside). My guess is that none will match 1999 but that they each could be equal to or better than 2002.
I would not be surprised if when all is said and done 2016 turns out to be the best vintage since 2010, although given the frost the wines could be a bit uneven from producer to producer.
I am interested in seeing what happens with the 2017s. I thought they were a lot better at the Paulee in NYC (could this really be less than 3 weeks ago, how quickly the world has changed). I thought they were much better than they were in barrel during the summer of 2018. Other vintages that really improved over the first couple of years include 1980, 2000, 2001, 2007 and 2008. I would not be surprised if 2017 turns out to be in the 2001 quality level, at least.
Great to read. I liked the 2006s in the barrel when I visited Burgundy in 2007. Certainly not as impressive as 2005s that I tasted then, but they seemed well balanced and I was hoping for another 2001. With some exceptions, they have not tasted as good to me since, and I have been hoping that with time they would get back to being the well balanced wines I thought they would be. Your post is encouraging.
Good post. I am bullish on '12s long run. They’re very shut down now but I think they’ll be quite good. And if '02 is the downside for '09/'12/'15, that’s ok with me!
I also agree that '16 is awesome for reds (not whites). It’s just such a tiny vintage–not much out there–so it doesn’t get quite the press.
Finally, I too have been pleasantly surprised with the few '17s I’ve tasted. When I was in Burgundy last year, all I heard was how thrilled folks were that it was a larger vintage. Some called it a more generous, earlier drinking vintage. And that signaled to me that perhaps it wouldn’t be as serious. But they’re showing to be quite good.
I’m a big fan of 2011 Northern Rhône’s. Have had mean beauties. Popped a personal fave of mine last night, 2011 Gonon St Joe, and it was singing. Juge is gorgeous in this vintage.
2011 N Rhône: that’s another one it’s hard to say is a surprise given how delicious they always were. Maybe the surprise (which I think we have discussed in other threads) is some of them (like Gonon and Juge) never shut down despite seeming to have decent structure.
Concur with 1994 Bordeaux, although my experience is limited to Cos d’Estournel and Pichon Lalande. Last sampled P-L about a year ago and it keeps getting better.