VINES.ORG Vintage Charts

Vintage assessments for Burgundy from 1988 to 2007
Year	VINES.ORG	Robert Parker	Wine Spectator	Decanter	Broadbent	RVF	Alles-Ueber-Wein	Wine Report	Details
2005									Cold weather lasted until March 10. April and May were wetter than usual, with flowering brought on by a hot weekend on May 28-29, but continuing for 3 weeks as the weather turned cold again. June and July were warm and dry but not especially hot; drought was a problem for young vines, but older vines had enough water resulting from soil retention from the wet Spring. September started hot followed by rain (much needed by then), with a North wind that dried out the grapes. Protracted good weather allowed growers to choose exactly when they wanted to pick. Reds are considered to be a very fine vintage, with thick skins giving good color extraction, but good acidity, and overall and average yield.
2004						***			The weather pattern returned to normal in 2004, and was almost opposite to 2003. The winter was mild and unusually humid. The mild weather continued into the spring so there were no problems with frost. Lack of sunshine in May and a cold snap in June slowed growth down, and flowering was delayed by about two weeks compared to the usual, although it was high. The summer was cold and wet, so there were problems with fungal infections. More sulfur powdering was necessary than usual. Measures to reduce crop size, including debudding, deflowering and green harvesting, were critical to obtaining quality as the vines attempted to compensate for the low yield in 2003. Hailstorms wiped out parts of the Côte de Beaune (Volnay, Pommard, Beaune and Savigny) on August 23. Warm weather rescued the quality with three sunny weeks in September before the harvest. The crop was much larger than 2003 harvest, and required careful sorting, but this is not the most concentrated vintage. Malic acid was much higher than usual (up to 4 times), making some of the reds rather tart. The reds get better going up from the Côte de Beaune through the Côte de Nuits.
2003	88A					***()		80	Record heat led to early vintage with vignerons rushing back from vacations for the ban des vendages on August 18 to bring in a small harvest. Some excellent wines were made, but also many with over-ripe flavors. The risk was desiccation of the berries, leading to harsh tannins in spite of the fruit concentration, although many produces reduces pigeage and maceration time. Low acidity was a challenge; this was such an unusual situation that many over reacted. In fact, growers who waited did better, since temperatures dropped and rain came to allow the grapes to reach better maturity. The vines resisted the drought best where there is more clay in the soil, so the usual relationship between terroir and quality does not hold. The harvest was half the usual size. The best wines are good for short term consumption, and as a general rule it is probably better to go for village wines rather than the Premier or Grand Crus.
2002	89A			****		***()		86	A cold dry winter and dry Spring minimized pests and infections. Cool weather during flowering induced millerandage, which reduced the size of the harvest. August was not very sunny and was slightly wet, but September was dry and sunny, creating excellent harvest conditions. A cool wind stopped development of rot and phenolic maturation was achieved over a good period. Rain in the first half of September was followed by a week of sun with high wind and sugar levels suddenly increased by as much as 2% alcohol before the harvest. The crop is high quality for both reds and whites. Reds of the Côte de Nuits are similar to 1999, perhaps with slightly better quality but lower yields. They have good fruit, but with purity and acidity preserved by the lack of excessive heat. Thunderstorms affected the vintage in Côte de Beaune. The vintage in the South of Burgundy, including Côte Chalonnais, Mâcon, and Beaujolais, was spoiled by rain. The reds should mature in the intermediate term and are best in the Côte de Nuits, which benefited most from the late good weather with its 3-day later picking.
2001	87A			***		***	19	80	Conditions were challenging. The winter was wet, cold, and prolonged (even with snow in Gevrey Chambertin in April). However, flowering was early, although humidity caused by the rain caused some mildew and millerandage, reducing crop size. However, continued cool weather prevented rot from setting in. July did not warm up until late. Storms at the beginning of August caused extensive crop losses due to hail South of Beaune. September started cold, but warmed up in time for the Ban des Vendanges on 17th. Crop size was relatively small and quality was inconsistent; uneven ripeness required careful triage. Grapes were quite acid, with pH ranges typically 3.15-3.2 (not quite as low as 1996). Chaptalization of 1-1.3% was common (the same as in 2000). The reds are better in the Côte de Nuits than the Côte de Beaune, and the Côte Chalonnais had problems achieving ripeness.
2000	86A			***	***	***	15	70	Mild winter (except for cold November and a few very cold days in January) followed by mild Spring led to early bud burst followed by flowering early in June in good conditions (providing for large crop). July was cool and rainy, but August was sunny and hot. A sunny September allowed harvesting from the 11th in the Côte de Beaune, one of the earliest vendanges of the last 20 years. There was a large crop, following the large crop of the previous year. There were outbreaks of rot in some parts of the Côte de Beaune and in the Côte Chalonnais, requiring rigorous sorting to maintain quality in the reds, which are are relatively precocious. Acidity and tannins are lighter than in 1999, so this is an earlier-drinking vintage. Quality was especially good in Beaujolais.
1999	90B			**** hold	*****	***()	19	85	1999 was a very good vintage for both red and white wines in Burgundy. The early part of 1999 was warmer and more humid than normal. Excellent warm sunny weather during flowering and throughout May ensured an abundant crop, together with natural compensation for the two small crops of 1997 and 1998. From the end of June through early August, the weather was cool but not too wet. Very fine weather followed for four weeks from mid August through to the start of the harvest on September 15 and its end on September 28. The size of the crop (the largest since 1982) led to some concerns about dilution, but ripeness was good and acidity, although not as high as 1996, was good (giving a round style because of high tartaric but low malic acid). Fruit was healthy and mature, quality is consistently good. Some consider this to be the best year since 1990, but there is less structure and acidity than 1996, and the wines will not age as long. The reds are like a stronger version of the 1997s or a softer version of the 1996s, without its structure; they will be good for medium-term drinking rather than very long term.
1998	86C			**** hold	****	****	17	83	Peculiar weather conditions produced a poor vintage in 1998 throughout Burgundy. The winter was mild and wet from November 1997 through the end of January 1998. February was dry, Spring was mild, but then April was cold and wet and there was even some frost damage. Coulure further reduced yield. Continued rain through April was followed by a four month drought. The weather remained mild except for a couple of bursts of heat in July and August when many vines suffered scorching. Rain returned on August 21 and there was little sun. so the grapes swelled, there were problems with rot, and the sun did not reappear until mid September. Good ripening in the last part of September rescued the harvest, but there was uneven ripening and quite assertive phenolics.
1997	87C			**** hold	****	****	16		1997 produced "restaurant wines" for early drinking for both reds and whites. November and December were normal, January and February were cold; overall there was both more rain and more sunshine than usual. Budding occurred two weeks earlier than the previous year (which itself was considered early). Dry sunny weather in April continued the pattern, leading to precocious development that equalled 1943, 1948 and 1989. This did result in some frost damage. Rain with little sunshine in June caused millerandage (failure of fruit set), reducing the size of the crop. July was very rainy and stormy with little sunshine. August was exceptionally hot with a few storms, and good sunshine. Some grapes suffered from heat stress. September started out rainy but then turned to hot, dry, sunny weather, retarding maturation. From mid September there was string diurnal temperature variation, encouraging resumption of maturation. In fact, there were large temperature differences between grapes picked in the mornings (acceptable temperatures of 12.8-14 °C) and grapes picked in the afternoons (too hot at 25 °C and requiring refrigeration before going into the vat). Sudden attacks of mildew, oidium and rot are responsible for lack of color in some wines. There is less acidity and grip than in 1996.
1996	91C		96 / Drink/Hold	**** hold	****	*****	19		Weather conditions were good, starting with a hot fortnight in June that caused even flowering and a large crop. A North wind through August helped avoid excessive temperatures and helped to concentrate the grapes. September was sunny and dry and had good diurnal temperature variation. Ripening resulted from the sunshine, but generally cool temperatures maintained high acidity. Slow ripening ensured high phenolics. The wines have high acidity and tannins, and were billed from the outset as vins de garde, classic in style, for long keeping. But Pinot Noir is not a grape that takes gracefully to high tannin; the acidity has not ameliorated and at present exacerbates the high tannin levels. In many cases, it is unclear whether there is sufficient fruit to outlast the tannins. Many of the premier crus and grand crus are far from ready to drink; some may come around in the next few years, but others may never come around.
1995	89C		88 / Hold	**** hold	****	***()	18		Harvest size was small due to poor weather during flowering, and coulure caused by unusually cold weather in June. July and August were very hot, and September was rainy. By harvest time the grapes were deeply colored and quite concentrated. They had decent acidity levels, and the wines are good, but generally lack the structure and concentration of the 1996s; this a relatively early drinking vintage.
1994	85D		81 / Drink/Hold	** hold	* to ***	**	15		A poor vintage.
1993	88C		91 / Hold	**** hold	****	***()	16		A good vintage, filling the gap between 1990 and 1996, but with generally early-maturing wines.
1992	80D		79 / Drink	*** drink soon	***	*()	15		Reds distinctly poorer than the whites, and not recommended.
1991	83D		86 / Drink	*** drink soon	**	**()	16		A poor vintage; unlikely still to be drinkable.
1990	92B		98 / Drink/Hold	***** hold	*****	*****			The first top vintage since the seventies, with rich, well structured, long lived wines.
1989	88C		93 / Drink	**** drink soon	****	***()	18		Good vintage for lighter-style reds, relatively short lived.
1988	90C		90 / Drink/Hold	**** drink soon	*****	***()	18		Good vintage for well structured wines; now some dissent as to whether they need to be drunk.
2005									The size of the crop for Chardonnay was reduced by millerandage resulting from the protracted flowering and the results are not as even as for the whites. This is a top vintage in Chablis.
2004						**()			This is a good vintage for drinking young while the fruit lasts, with decent acidity (the high malic acid was less of a problem for the whites than for the reds). Rather variable in Chablis.
2003	88A					****		60	Summer of record heat led to start of harvest in Beaune by August 20. Whites are luscious and rich, but somewhat lacking in acidity, and unlikely to be long lived; many seem a little clumsy. Chablis is atypical.
2002	93B					****		85	A very good vintage for white wines of Côte de Beaune with excellent fruit verging on luscious but also very good supporting acidity. The wines look likely to be long lived in a classic style. The good weather came late in 2002, and a result the biggest beneficiaries were the latest-ripening regions, so Chablis is a top vintage, even better than 2000.
2001	87C					***	16	70	The winter was wet, cold, and prolonged (even with snow in Gevrey Chambertin in April). However, flowering was early, although humidity caused by the rain caused some mildew and millerandage, reducing crop size. However, continued cool weather prevented rot from setting in. July did not warm up until late. Storms at the beginning of August caused extensive crop losses due to hail South of Beaune. September started cold, but warmed up in time for the Ban des Vendanges on 17th. Crop size was relatively small and quality was inconsistent; uneven ripeness required careful triage. Grapes were quite acid, with pH ranges typically 3.15-3.2 (not quite as low as 1996). Chaptalization of 1-1.3% was common (the same as in 2000). The whites are more successful then the reds, but Chablis was poor.
2000	88A				***	****	17	81	Mild winter (except for cold November and a few very cold days in January) followed by mild Spring led to early bud burst followed by flowering early in June in good conditions (providing for large crop). July was cool and rainy, but August was sunny and hot. A sunny September allowed harvesting from the 14th to 28th, one of the earliest vendanges of the last 20 years. There was a large crop, following the large crop of the previous year. The whites are more consistent than the reds, of good quality from the Côte d'Or and south to Macon despite the large size of the crop. They are aromatic although a little lighter and less fleshy than the 1999s. These are wines for early drinking, although there are some elegant wines to drink while waiting for the 2002s to come around. This is a great vintage in Chablis, the best for decades, surpassed only by 2002, and the best wines will be very long lived.
1999	88B	90E		**** hold	****	***	18	90	This was the largest white wine crop Burgundy has ever produced. The best are very good, although they lack the structure of the best years and are more in the style of 1992. They are rich rather than elegant, and relatively short lived.
1998	86C	86R		**** hold	****	***	16	73	White were better than reds in 1998, pleasant for short term drinking given the low acidity. Relative to the Côte de Beaune, Macon did better and Chablis did worse.
1997	88C	89R		**** drink soon	*****	***	17		Pleasant wines for early drinking, can be lacking in acidity
1996	90B	92T	91-95 / Hold	***** hold	*****	*****	18		The whites generally started out with high acidity and good structure, which was expected to make for a long life. Premier crus and grand crus have been ready to drink since 2000, but from 2003 many wines showed premature oxidation. By 2006 this was accompanied in many cases by loss of fruit. The cause is not clear: it was initially attributed to a change in the treatment of corks when the use of hydrogen peroxide was introduced, but other possibilities are reduced use of sulfur dioxide and increased frequency of bâttonage.
1995	90C	91E	1995 / 93 / Drink/Hold	***** hold	****	***()	19		Very good wines, more forward and opulent than the 1996, but likely not to be so long lived.
1994	85D	87R	87 / Drink	*** hold	***	***	15		A poor vintage.
1993	80D	72C	82 / Drink	*** hold	***	***	14		Whites distinctly poorer than the reds, and not recommended.
1992	90C	90R	89 / Drink/Hold	**** drink soon	***	*****	17		Some very good whites, relatively opulent, but probably approaching the end of their lifespan.
1991	80D	70C	85 / Drink	*** drink soon	***	**()	15		A poor vintage; unlikely still to be drinkable.
1990	90B	87R	92 / Drink	**** drink soon	****	****			Excellent whites, with good structure, quite opulent, relatively long lived.
1989	90C	92R	92 / Drink/Hold	***** drink soon	to *****	***()			Excellent whites, with good structure, quite opulent, relatively long lived. Some are now showing traces of oxidation.
1988	85C	82R	88 / Drink/Hold	*** drink soon	***	***			Acceptable whites, tending to be somewhat austere.

Vintage assessments are also available for:
Chablis
Beaujolais