Top Red Burgundy vintage of the 21st century so far

[Robert_Sand]

I would rank them (not including 2019)

2010
2009
2015
2005
2016
2002
2012
2017
2018
2001
2000
2014
2007
2013
2008
2006
2003
2011
2004

I don’t feel that strongly about the order of anything after 2018 except the last 3.

My ranking is not THAT different, I think 2016 is better than 15 - and 14 better than 2000 … but whatever.

I still wonder who were the 4 that voted for 2004

[Howard_Cooper]

For me, it is easiest to rank vintages in groups:

top - 2010 and 2005

2nd - 2001, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017

3rd - 2002, 2014

4th - 2000, 2007, 2012

5th - 2008, 2013, 2018

6th - 2006

7th - 2011

Last 2004

too heterogeneous to meaningfully rate 2003

[Greg_K]

To be clear - I’d rank 2005 3rd. So it’s not as if I think it’s a bad vintage. But it’s neither a sure thing nor enjoyable now.

Ah, that makes more sense. Sorry for my misunderstanding. I probably even agree with you on that ranking.

No misunderstanding, I probably expressed myself too negatively.

[Brady_Daniels]

I still wonder who were the 4 that voted for 2004

Non-burg drinking board members with long memories and a sense of humor?

[Brady_Daniels]

I remember when several prominent members of this board loooooved 2008 burg. This was most notable when 2009’s were new on the market.

Funny, 2009 received much the same reaction on the board then that 2018/2019 is receiving now. I was one of the naysayers. The lesson I took from that was knowing how little I should trust first impressions, especially based on en primeur.

With the long run of quality vintages and improving winemaking, the difference between affinity for different vintages is clearly based on personal taste as much as overall quality.

[Jay_Miller]

I remember when several prominent members of this board loooooved 2008 burg. This was most notable when 2009’s were new on the market.

Funny, 2009 received much the same reaction on the board then that 2018/2019 is receiving now. I was one of the naysayers. The lesson I took from that was knowing how little I should trust first impressions, especially based on en primeur.

With the long run of quality vintages and improving winemaking, the difference between affinity for different vintages is clearly based on personal taste as much as overall quality.

I still love 2008 Burgundy as a vintage though it’s shut down and needs to wait.

I was also a 2009 naysayer until they had a year in bottle at which point I changed my tune.

[Greg_K]

I remember when several prominent members of this board loooooved 2008 burg. This was most notable when 2009’s were new on the market.

Funny, 2009 received much the same reaction on the board then that 2018/2019 is receiving now. I was one of the naysayers. The lesson I took from that was knowing how little I should trust first impressions, especially based on en primeur.

With the long run of quality vintages and improving winemaking, the difference between affinity for different vintages is clearly based on personal taste as much as overall quality.

There’s definitely something to this. In years past, I think 2018 could have been another 2003, whereas I think now it will simply be a heterogeneous vintage with some producers making big extracted wines, and some making very good ones. I’ve also now had a few of the wines from bottle, and they definitely show quite warm.

I am not, by any means, a climate determinist - I think Burgundy can not only survive, but thrive in warmer vintages given the better farming techniques and winemaking in the region. But I also think 2018 is the first such vintage and some producers were less prepared for it than they may be in the future.

[Howard_Cooper]

I still wonder who were the 4 that voted for 2004

Non-burg drinking board members with long memories and NO sense of humor?

fixed it

[Kent_Comley]

Data point and sample of one but last nights 2006 Bruno Clavelier VR Beauxmonts was totally rocking and right in the zone. Might have to gather a few more examples of the vintage having shot my mouth off about the vintage earlier in the thread!

[Martin_Steinley]

so am I reading this thread wrong when I say that since 2014 we have basically had some flavor of good to very good every year in burgundy?

I’d say there are plenty of people who will disagree with respect to 2018.

I think in the long run it’s almost certain they’ll be wrong, though.

Without a doubt, and in the short run, too. I was wary of the vintage after reading vintage reports. I was even more wary when I poured Voillot’s range from Volnay and Pommard to sample, as the the color was unusually dark and opaque. However, the wines are only ripe, and not overripe, and have freshness and verve. Subsequently, I have tasted through dozens of wines from the likes of Clavelier, Clerget, Comte de Vogue, Dujac, Roy and Guillemot, and some off-the-beaten-path producers. I have consistently found wines darker in color and fruit profile, and which are rich and concentrated, but supple and with good freshness and grip. Some of these young wines are simply dramatic, even sultry, and are a joy to try young, and will be brilliant as they stretch out over the years. I am a believer that the unusually wet winter and abundant harvest served as buffers against over-ripeness and any roasted character. They taste nothing like the 2003s. As with most red Burgundy vintages, they will be splendid with time (and they are exciting wines to drink young).

Dismissing a Burgundy vintage en masse eases current buying decisions and helps to rationalize past decisions, but serves little else in my experience.

Greg, last month, in the 2018 Burgundy thread, you reported that you had tried a total of eight bottles of 2018 red and white Burgundy. If that remains the case, it seems that your first-hand experience with the bottled wines is too slim to be so strident in your opinion of it. Knowing your experience with the bottled wines would help me, and likely others, better assess your opinion of it.

[Greg_K]

Greg, last month, in the 2018 Burgundy thread, you reported that you had tried a total of eight bottles of 2018 red and white Burgundy. If that remains the case, it seems that your first-hand experience with the bottled wines is too slim to be so strident in your opinion of it. Knowing your experience with the bottled wines would help me, and likely others, better assess your opinion of it.

You can rest assured Martin. Just for this conversation, I’ve checked my inventory and I’ve tried 23 bottles. If that number, as well as my barrel tasting, is insufficient for you to think I’ve formed a reasonable impression, I’ll sleep easy regardless.

[Howard_Cooper]

I’d say there are plenty of people who will disagree with respect to 2018.

I think in the long run it’s almost certain they’ll be wrong, though.

Without a doubt, and in the short run, too. I was wary of the vintage after reading vintage reports. I was even more wary when I poured Voillot’s range from Volnay and Pommard to sample, as the the color was unusually dark and opaque. However, the wines are only ripe, and not overripe, and have freshness and verve. Subsequently, I have tasted through dozens of wines from the likes of Clavelier, Clerget, Comte de Vogue, Dujac, Roy and Guillemot, and some off-the-beaten-path producers. I have consistently found wines darker in color and fruit profile, and which are rich and concentrated, but supple and with good freshness and grip. Some of these young wines are simply dramatic, even sultry, and are a joy to try young, and will be brilliant as they stretch out over the years. I am a believer that the unusually wet winter and abundant harvest served as buffers against over-ripeness and any roasted character. They taste nothing like the 2003s. As with most red Burgundy vintages, they will be splendid with time (and they are exciting wines to drink young).

Dismissing a Burgundy vintage en masse eases current buying decisions and helps to rationalize past decisions, but serves little else in my experience.

Greg, last month, in the 2018 Burgundy thread, you reported that you had tried a total of eight bottles of 2018 red and white Burgundy. If that remains the case, it seems that your first-hand experience with the bottled wines is too slim to be so strident in your opinion of it. Knowing your experience with the bottled wines would help me, and likely others, better assess your opinion of it.

Don’t dismiss 2003 too broadly. I didn’t buy widely in 2003 (just Truchot to keep allocations) but these wines have gotten truly fabulous. In the time period of this poll (2000-2006 for Truchot), 2003 probably right now is my favorite vintage (remembering that I have only opened Bourgogne of my 2005s).

[Martin_Steinley]

I think in the long run it’s almost certain they’ll be wrong, though.

Without a doubt, and in the short run, too. I was wary of the vintage after reading vintage reports. I was even more wary when I poured Voillot’s range from Volnay and Pommard to sample, as the the color was unusually dark and opaque. However, the wines are only ripe, and not overripe, and have freshness and verve. Subsequently, I have tasted through dozens of wines from the likes of Clavelier, Clerget, Comte de Vogue, Dujac, Roy and Guillemot, and some off-the-beaten-path producers. I have consistently found wines darker in color and fruit profile, and which are rich and concentrated, but supple and with good freshness and grip. Some of these young wines are simply dramatic, even sultry, and are a joy to try young, and will be brilliant as they stretch out over the years. I am a believer that the unusually wet winter and abundant harvest served as buffers against over-ripeness and any roasted character. They taste nothing like the 2003s. As with most red Burgundy vintages, they will be splendid with time (and they are exciting wines to drink young).

Dismissing a Burgundy vintage en masse eases current buying decisions and helps to rationalize past decisions, but serves little else in my experience.

Greg, last month, in the 2018 Burgundy thread, you reported that you had tried a total of eight bottles of 2018 red and white Burgundy. If that remains the case, it seems that your first-hand experience with the bottled wines is too slim to be so strident in your opinion of it. Knowing your experience with the bottled wines would help me, and likely others, better assess your opinion of it.

Don’t dismiss 2003 too broadly. I didn’t buy widely in 2003 (just Truchot to keep allocations) but these wines have gotten truly fabulous. In the time period of this poll (2000-2006 for Truchot), 2003 probably right now is my favorite vintage (remembering that I have only opened Bourgogne of my 2005s).

When I said that the 2018s don’t taste like the 2003s, I did not intend to dismiss 2003. My experience is that all vintages have something to offer, particularly with time.

[Fred_Bower]

This thread is fun from the bleachers. It prompts me to put a few bottles into the queue to see how I feel about some of the observations about vintage character here.

I have no idea how to select a single vintage, since I have three categories of vintage: disastrous, long-term cellar candidates, and drinkers. While I expect my best drinking experiences to come from properly-timed long-term cellar candidates, I think that the sum-total vinous pleasure I get from drinker vintages might surpass those few unicorns. My acquisition strategy has been to set myself up to be drinking yesteryear’s long-term cellar candidates in my autumnal years. If I do it right, the sum will balance out.

Cheers,
fred

[Howard_Cooper]

This thread is fun from the bleachers. It prompts me to put a few bottles into the queue to see how I feel about some of the observations about vintage character here.

I have no idea how to select a single vintage, since I have three categories of vintage: disastrous, long-term cellar candidates, and drinkers. While I expect my best drinking experiences to come from properly-timed long-term cellar candidates, I think that the sum-total vinous pleasure I get from drinker vintages might surpass those few unicorns. My acquisition strategy has been to set myself up to be drinking yesteryear’s long-term cellar candidates in my autumnal years. If I do it right, the sum will balance out.

Cheers,
fred

Worry less about vintage and more about producer. Find a few producers who make wines in a style you like and the rest will fall into place.

[Mike_Miller]

Whichever one is currently on sale. Just as the producers!! It’s the next vintage of the century.

Seriously, my gut tells me it will ultimately be 2009. But my head tells me that at 61, I won’t be alive to verify my hunch. 2002 is hard to beat if you’re my age.

[Brady_Daniels]

Seriously, my gut tells me it will ultimately be 2009. But my head tells me that at 61, I won’t be alive to verify my hunch.

Yeah, this is why 44% of respondents love 2010. Open yesterday, delicious today, and sure to be great in twenty years. Perhaps many Berserkers are too practical to worry about “ultimately?”

[A_Songeur]

Whichever one is currently on sale. Just as the producers!! It’s the next vintage of the century.

Seriously, my gut tells me it will ultimately be 2009. But my head tells me that at 61, I won’t be alive to verify my hunch. 2002 is hard to beat if you’re my age.

?? What a pessimist! When you turn 70, 2009 will be 20 years old and 2005 25 years old… Your tasting buds won’t be off by that time… and many 2009s will be drunk by that time…

[Peter_Chiu]

Wonderful discussions.

Worry less about vintage and more about producer. Find a few producers who make wines in a style you like and the rest will fall into place.

I love what Howard said.

How great will the red from 2005 be…it is still too early to tell.

Most likely 2015 will be equal if not greater than 2005 due the fact that wine makers learned more from their experience from vintage 2005. Just my 2 cents.

Meadow rated the 2015 - for red from the Beaune - is the best since 1999 and the 2015 - for red from the nuits- is the best since 2005.

[Shan_A]

How are peple thinking about higher alcohol 2019?