Whine # 32
How important is Vintage? Most bottles of wine clearly indicate the year when the grapes were picked. There are, however, a few exceptions. For example, many Champagnes do not give a year because wines from different years are blended together in an attempt to provide a consistent product.
Paying attention to the year is important for two reasons. First, this critical information tells one whether or not the wine is ready, or needs to be aged, or if in fact, it has passed its best shelf date. Knowing how long to age a particular wine, although extremely important, is a complex issue and has been dealt with in an earlier Whine (#3) so I’ll move along, except to say that if you are drinking young Cabernets you are making a big mistake. Remember, however, that the year refers to when the grapes were picked. This is usually in October in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere. So a 2008 Chilean wine is already six months older than a 2008 from California.
Winemaking is highly weather dependent. Lots of sun means lots of sugar and better wine. While I don’t grow grapes I do have a small vegetable garden. Last summer we experienced a wetter than normal growing season and our tomatoes were so flavorless that they could have been mistaken for those one buys in the supermarket in February.
Since weather varies from place to place, the statement that it was “a very good year” or “a very poor year” depends not only on the country, but perhaps on a very small region within a country. Vintage charts will give ratings not just for the Bordeaux region in France, for example, but will note the Left Bank versus the Right Bank. Thus, in 1998 the wines of St. Emilion (right bank) were only average while the Haut Medoc (just across the river) were considered to be classic.
Back to the basic question, does the year really matter? The answer is, as you might expect, “Yes and No.” In part it depends on the country. Weather is more variable in some places than in others. Perhaps the extremes are France and California. In Bordeaux, rainfall and timing of the rainfall varies greatly. Thus, there are good years and not so good years and the difference is much more than trivial. So if you are putting out big bucks for a special occasion bottle of Margaux pay the extra for a 2009 or 2010 which were exceptionally good years.
In Spain the weather varies a lot from year to year. However, the Spanish make it easy for you. When there is a very good year, the Spanish will label their best wines “Gran Reservas” and as a consumer you know the wine will be special. In ordinary years the vintners are not allowed to use that label, so “Reserva” will be as good as it gets.
In Argentina, there is little rain and the vines are irrigated from the melting snows of the Andes. Nonetheless, some years can be a disaster for the grower as the Mendosa area (source of 90% of Argentinian wines) is susceptible to hail storms. However, hailstorms may destroy the entire crop. Generally speaking the quality varies much less from year to year than in Southern Europe.
In Chile the weather is even more consistent so if you are buying wines from South America don’t worry so much about the vintage.
Finally, in California the weather is almost guaranteed. The last time that California had a poor vintage was almost 25 years ago.
In conclusion I would suggest that for most of us vintage only matters when laying down expensive French wines from Bordeaux or Burgundy.
Wines that disappointed. Last month I listed the 10 best wines that I enjoyed in 2011. The thought occurred to me that if I am making lists, why not a list of the worst wines?
As you know, one occasionally opens a bottle that is “corked” and is thus undrinkable. For those who cellar wine there can be a bottle that has simply been kept too long. My list includes neither of those disappointments. It is simply a list of wines that I really didn’t like.
6 08 Cote de Brouilly (Beaujolais)
5 05 Terrendstre Barbera D’Alba (Italy)
4 06 Aveleda Follies Tourisa National (Portugal)
3 04 Fleur du Cap Shiraz (South Africa)
2 06 Black Opal Shiraz (Australia)
1 08 Passetoutgains (Burgundy) What is really bad about this wine is that I bought a whole case.
Next Whine. Writing a Whine is usually triggered by an Opimian Offering. I usually end each Whine with recommendations to buy (see below). I expect the next Opimian Offering (# 208) will be out the last week in February. By that time, however, Betty and I should be on a month’s holiday in Southeast Asia. So don’t expect another Whine for a couple of months.
Although I am going to take a break from WhineWhining I shall not be weaned off blogging entirely. As some of you know I like to blog about my travels. If any of you who read the Whine would like to hear about the countries that we are about to visit send me a brief e-mail (rjohnson@stfx.ca) and I’ll add you to my distribution list for notification of my travel blogs.
Offering # 207. As most of you know I am very partial to South American wines. This month’s offering features wines from both Argentina and Chile, as well as wines from the Rhone Valley in France. There are so many good wines in this offering that I hardly know where to begin. So what I decided to do is to suggest to you only wines that I have experienced many times. Then for my own orderings I am going to try some wines with which I am not as familiar. I didn’t pick particularly inexpensive wines this time. Three of my recommendations are in the $ 20 range and one is very expensive but unbelievably good. Any of these wines could be served to your most important guest or saved for a romantic evening with your significant other.
6494 08 Alpha Crux Malbec: Cellar this for a couple of years and be glad you broke the bank
6504 10 Casa Nueva Merlot Reserva: Merlots can be very special
6524 10 Cornellana Barrel Reserve Carmenere: The Barrel Reserve series is very reliable
6528 10 Expresion Reserve Pinot Noir: Pinot with body
6549 10 Chateau de Montmirail Gigondas: One of the best from Southern Rhone
