First there were rumblings that 2002, Chardonnay from certain areas in particular, was not everything many originally thought it to be. Now it seems that 2006 is not as strong as initially predicted. It makes one wonder if the next exceptional vintage, 2008, will follow suit. Are there reasons why 2008 should be the real deal? The best Champagne vintage since 1996?
Great as in “Vintage of the century” great? 1996 was a very special year but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t fantastic champagnes from more modern vintages. I would argue that 2004, 2002 and 2008 all made some great champagnes.
I have had quite a few from 2002 that I thought were great.
I love 2008
I like the fruit of 08 better than 96 and it has nearly the acidity. Add to that there are infinitely more grower wines you get better vineyard practices in 08 than 96, often better winemaking (but not always), and lots of great wines at lower prices instead of having to buy big houses. For all those reasons, I say 08 is even better than 96. Let you know in 2030 though.
While it is early days to pontificate, my intuition is certainly that 2008 is superior to 1996. There are some wonderful '96s, but there are also plenty of disappointing wines that have not pulled everything together with bottle age.
2008 will be !!!
What I´ve tasted so far is outstanding.
Sure the great cuvées are not yet on the market.
1996 is great only in places, so probably not a great vintage overall.
This. The highs are very high, but it wasn’t the most consistent vintage.
I think a better question is whether or not 2008 will turn out to be a truly great vintage. It looks like it might. I’m eager to try some of the wines that haven’t been released yet.
Agreed about 96. Plenty of wines I had high hopes for that were definitely not superstars.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the big house 2008s. Cristal seems to be up first.
The short answer to the question- no really great vintages, but definitely some truly great wines produced. Doesn’t that matter more? 
Of course it matters. The problem arises when early upon release, a vintage is declared to be uniformly superior. When some of the professional critics are seduced by a wine’s early appeal without either considering, or making it clear that longevity could be an issue. Some of the Chardonnay based wines from 2002 come to mind. Buying decisions are made with these early evaluations and consumers expect the larger picture. Yes, a tasting is but a snapshot in time, but professionals should be able to evaluate potentiality.