it feels like inventory is quickly vanishing for red burgundy across my usual sources for bottles from 2015 and earlier. 2015 was my wedding year so i went quite long on the vintage but mostly have been ignoring 2016-2020 thus far.
the little that ive gathered is that the 2016 vintage was terrible for quantity and mixed on quality, 2017 was excellent for quantity and fine/decent on quality. 2018 is a minefield which is generally disappointing, stew-y, and reminiscent of 2003. we had a kid that year and ive only bought some bottles from lafarge after the positive comments. you can sense that 2018s are being discounted more than any other vintage in recent memory. 2019 has generally been well received and initial 2020 reports are even better.
what says all of you? how would you rank 2016-2020 so far?
If you really lump all of 2018 into 2003 you’re missing a ton.
No way 20 is hands down better than 19. That’s just salesman at work. 19 is everything good about 18 and 17 together in one glass. 20 is not bad by any means but would hesitate to claim it’s even better.
Based on what I’ve tasted, 2020 is at the top. It’s 2010 again with a bit more of everything. After that, pretty close between 2019 and 2015. 2017 next. Then 2016. And 2018 as a real laggard.
Alex
It’s a treacherous business “ranking” vintages, as there are almost always some really good wines in any vintage. But I think it’s legit to form a judgment for one’s own tastes, once you’ve sampled enough wines. For me that would be: 16, 19/17 tie, 15, 18. Not having had any 20s, I can’t comment on the vintage.
What the OP said about 2016 is true about Chambolle, but not the rest of the vintage. There was hail in Chambolle that year, and both quantity and quality can be poor. Otherwise, the vintage is generally perceived very well, by many extremely well.
2017 was definitely underrated when it was released, but might now be a little overrated. It’s very charming, but likely (with exceptions, for sure) not a very long aging vintage.
2018…there are good wines, but it’s a very atypical vintage and marked as much by the excessive heat as it is by people not being ready for it. I’ve heard comparisons to 2003 from several producers, including this week (though they don’t think it’s that bad). There are some atrocious wines, though also some good wines. Quantity was quite large, which is why they’re still in the market.
2019 and 2020 are both hot, but quite different - almost every producer I talk to says 2020 is “dry” rather than hot. The 2020s are denser and more extracted - darker, more brooding. Both are “big vintages”, but in different ways. I think for people who like 2015 more than 2017, 2020 will be great. But for reds, I don’t necessarily think either one is better - they’re quite different. Acidities are different, fruit profiles, etc.
Having just tasted some of the 2021s in barrel this week, that might be a shock to people used to the last 5 vintages .
(2020 whites are fabulous though).
I think that’s exactly right. I find the “you can’t say 2004 is a bad vintage because the LaTache is good” arguments frustrating and tendentious. An exception to a bad vintage doesn’t change that it’s a bad vintage.
the 20 reds I’ve had - small on quantity - are darker and bigger alcohols than 2019. They do have freshness that keeps them balanced. But most producers I believe favor their 2019s over 2020. 2020 seems be strong in lower tier appellations (eg village) where they seem to have good concentration and freshness. I don’t drink any/many whites but the 2020 whites I have tried all seem pretty good and seems like a good vintage with good intensity and freshness.
all helpful points. regarding 18, i just see bucketloads of 18 bottles…more than any other vintage currently available. after reading some awful reviews of bertheau bottles from 2018, im just very suspect in general.
maybe i misread some of the original 2020 chatter but its good to hear that 2019 is a vintage to focus on.
That was one producer and one review. You are missing out if you sum up the vintage based on that. But I agree that if you are buying now, focusing on '19 is a better idea. But you are going to pay 20-50% more for that privilege.
I have generally liked a lot of the 18 I’ve had, but the prices haven’t come down enough; I like 17 a bit more and am not willing to pay a big premium over it for 18.
From the first barrel tastings, most of the critics said it was the most inconsistent vintage for reds that they’d ever seen, with many overripe, high-alcohol wines but also superb ones. I suspect that’s why so many are still available.
I purchased a bunch of village and bargain PC level 18s at good prices (and with good reviews from critics I trust) with an underlying assumption that warmer years are, relatively speaking, a bigger boost to those wines than the upper tiers. The few I’ve tried so far were too young to evaluate but were not too ripe or overextracted. The comparisons 2003 I’m hearing make me worry a bit though.
You are missing out if you write off 2018 like that. At least taste through a bunch to see if you like them. They may not be for everyone but they are nothing like 2003 and not stewed.
I loved the 2021s I tasted in red. I tasted out of barrel at Vogue. The wines are going to shock some folks. There is a real sense of harmony. There just won’t be any quantity here. Prices will be very high.
The 2020s are very ripe. To me, a little riper than 2019 but there is a real freshness. An acid spine that makes them interesting to me. An acid spine not present in the 2019s on first .
I am buying mostly white because of my palate now. I have just gravitated to white burgundy.
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