When choosing wine, “vintage” is a very important reference. It not only represents the harvest time of the winemaking grapes but also symbolizes the quality and flavor of the wine. Especially for regions like Bordeaux, France, that use traditional winemaking techniques, the wines of “good vintages” have become favorites among collectors.
“Vintage” represents the symbol of a wine’s identity
Why is “vintage” so important for wine selection? Since the weather varies every year in each wine-producing region and the quality of the grapes is closely related to the weather of that year, “vintage” has become one of the important bases for judging the quality of wine.
Exploring the “good vintages” of Bordeaux wines
Bordeaux, France, is adjacent to the Atlantic coast and has a mild maritime climate. However, due to the large differences in local weather each year, the quality differences of wine vintages are relatively significant compared to other regions. Among them, some “century vintages” have become the choice of wine lovers, such as 1982, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010.
In the past ten years, 2015 and 2016 have also been quite outstanding “good vintages” of Bordeaux wines; as for 2018, 2019, and 2020, they are extremely rare consecutive three-year “good vintages” in the entire history of wine.
It is worth mentioning that although 2014 and 2017 have not been regarded as “century good years”, their quality is not bad and the price is reasonable, which is very suitable for beginners.
In addition, when considering the vintage of wine, the following factors should be noted:
1. Even in good years, differences in weather can lead to differences in the taste and flavor of wine. For example, 2009 and 2010 are both excellent vintages for Bordeaux wines, but the general structure of the 2010 wine is stronger, the tannins are prominent, and the style is more classic.
2. Bordeaux has many sub-regions, and due to differences in terroir, cultivation, and winemaking techniques, the wines of each sub-region also perform differently, so you can pay more attention to the differences in each sub-region when choosing wines.
3. In good Bordeaux years, the sun is abundant and the grapes are ripe, so many wineries can brew excellent wines; but in ordinary years, top wineries will strictly select grapes and only use dense, ripe grapes to brew, so although the yield decreases, they can still brew stunning works.
Finally, if you want to check the performance of wines of different regions and different vintages, you can go to various wine review websites, such as Robert Parker Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, etc., and search for Vintage Chart, which all provide rich wine information and evaluations.
