Millesimes of red Bordeaux in six categories

WINE TALK
1

Millesimes of red Bordeaux in six categories.
On a French forum, one question was asked about the years of old wines which deserve an interest.
I decided to rank the red Bordeaux years that I know, before 1981 (more than 30 years), in six categories. After having done that, I looked in my files : did I drink the good years or the bad years?
The result is spectacular :

Years to avoid : 1977 - 1973 - 1972 - 1969 - 1968 - 1965 - 1942 - 1941 - 1940 - 1939 - 1938 - 1932 - 1931 - 1930 - 14 years et 36 wines drunk

Years with a risk : 1980 - 1974 - 1963 - 1951 - 1944 - 1936 - 1922 - 1920 - 1917 - 1912 - 10 years et 29 wines drunk

Years variable : 1979 - 1976 - 1967 - 1958 - 1957 - 1956 - 1954 - 1935 - 1933 - 1927 - 1923 - 1916 - 1913 - 13 years et 85 wines drunk

Years to explore : 1978 - 1966 - 1948 - 1946 - 1943 - 1937 - 1925 - 1924 - 1915 - 1914 - 1904 - 1898 - 12 years et 138 wines drunk

Years of a great interest : 1975 - 1971 - 1970 - 1964 - 1962 - 1960 - 1952 - 1950 - 1934 - 1926 - 1919 - 1918 - 1911 - 1890 - 1865 - 15 years et 294 wines drunk

Years at the top : 1961 - 1959 - 1955 - 1953 - 1949 - 1947 - 1945 - 1929 - 1928 - 1921 - 1900 - 1899 - 1870 - 1869 - 1858 - 15 years et 392 wines drunk

TOTAL : - 79 years et 974 wines drunk

I had not the idea that I concentrated so much my search towards the best years, as the two best categories, with only 30 years, correspond to 686 wines drunk which is 70.4 %.

The millesimes that I have drunk the most are : 1947 (52), 1955 (48), 1934 (48), 1959 (47), 1961 (46), 1928 (39), 1970 (39), 1929 (38).

In total, in my files which compute only 11 years (I drink wine for more than 45 years), I have drunk 1,830 Bordeaux red, 856 being of 1981 and after.

All in all, the year that I have most consumed is 1990 with 60 red Bordeaux drunk.

It is interesting to see that despite my openness to small years, the greatest are the most drunk.

Of course, as many of you have different tastes and different experiences, it is sure that you will not rank the years in the same way. But this ranking, even imperfect, corresponds to my experience and my taste.

2

Interesting–let’s see the Burgundy data!
alan

3

[basic-smile.gif] Alan, to find the best vintages for a Burgundy chart, you probably only have to
go through the wines in your cellar. [highfive.gif]

Old wines can, of course, be interesting, whether or not they fall into the category of " years to avoid."
I recall having dinner at a restaurant in Lyon some years ago - it was Henri. The wine list carried
1941 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Very delicate, but with all of the sound wine characteristics in place, it was
nevertheless a memorable experience to drink a wine made during WWII.

Hank [cheers.gif]

4

Wouldn’t mind doing the research on Burgundy if I had access to some substrate…

5

Very interesting report… I’m happy to report my birth year is one of your top years and the one from which you have drunk the most!!! Me, not so much…

As always, very insightful reporting!

6

Jim,
Thank you for your message.

Alan,
Roughly, if I had to make a ranking for Burgundy red wines, I would keep the same result, with the following changes :
Years to promote with three steps : 1969
Years to promote with two steps : 1980, 1979, 1913, 1915
Years to promote with one step : 1974, 1935, 1933, 1923
Years to devaluate with one step : 1952, 1950, 1934
Years to devaluate with two steps : 1975, 1970

And among younger wines, I would devaluate 1982 with two steps.

I hope it helps. Of course, I do not pretend that it should be carved in marble.

7

Francois,

Very interesting drinking statistics. I am shocked that 1960 shows up in you list as a “year of great interest”. It’s my birth year, has been mostly panned by the critics, and the few Bordeaux from 1960 that I have drunk have not been good. What specific wines would you recommend from 1960? Thanks.

Larry

8

Wasn’t 1865 the best 19th century Burgundy year ?

9

Larry,
1960 is probably too highly estimated, but I recommand ChevalBlanc which was gorgeous and Haut-Brion.

Herwig,
You are right and I should be blamed as I have drunk three times Beaune Grèves Baby Jesus 1865 which is unbelievable !

So Bordeaux should downgraded for 1960 and Burgundy upgraded for 1865.
Thank you for the input. If I have time I will edit a new classification, which of course does not pretend to be “the” truth.

10

The 1865 Clos de Vougeot de chez Bouchard remains my most profound memorable bottle I ever had the priviledge to taste . Unbelievably complex , fresh and pure ( tasted just a few years ago ).

Francois ,can I ask you ( and fellow board members ) for advice : I can buy a bottle 1908 Grand Musigny . The owner rebottled it and claims it is perfect ( they " sacrifised " a couple of bottles to top the good ones ). But 1908 , according to the grand Henri Jayer , is a very poor vintage. Is this worth the risk ?

11

Francois,

Would you really classify 1978 Burgundy as just a year “to explore”? I am far less knowledgeable about old vintages than you are but the few times I’ve had 78s they did strike me as better than, say 1979s (which seems to rank higher in your classification)… Would love to hear if it is an oversight or something you feel strongly about…

Bien a vous,
Thomas

12

Very interesting.

Really interesting chart. While I have tasted few wines before 1950, I have been lucky enough to have tasted a few wines from the 1950s, and extensively from 1960 on.

A few thoughts:

\

  1. From Category years with risk, the 1974s have often surprised me. I have had great bottles of LMHB, Trotanoy and Latour.

    \
  2. From variable years: As 1956 is a my birth year, I have tried a lot of wines, and never tasted anything that was remotely drinkable. What have you had that was?
    Also, I have found 1979 to be extremely good (brilliant in Margaux) and far better than 1978.

3.From Years to explore 1966 produced really great wines, and is, I think, more consistent than the other wines you mention in the category. I would certainly add it to the next category, where I think it would be in the middle, higher than 1960, 1964 left bank, 1971 and 1975 .

13

Thank you Francois this is an excellent reference!

14

My experience with 1908 is not enormous, but I have had good surprises. But wines can be fragile.

Concerning 1978 and 1979, depending on the wine, one year can be better than another. I think I should have put them in the same level.

For 1956, great pleasure with Latour.