Here we go again … grapes are just picked and a new great vintage is announced by experts, critics and with them collectors all over the world
Yes the grapes looked very fine and healty indeed and the reports from most vignerons were very positive during the harvest … but please for Christ’s sake … the juice is still fermenting.
I have already heard stories about people talking about skipping the 2014s as 2015 will be such a great vintage …. !!!!!!!
Firstly no one know for sure if 2015 is going to be a great vintage … secondly and even worse the 2014s could well provide lovely drinking early on … while you are waiting for your supposedly great 2015s and the 2010s and 2012s for that matter.
This is Burgundy … not Bordeaux … the charm of Burgundy is that the vintages all have their unique qualities, they offer great variation. Some offer delightful drinking after a few years of cellaring while others requiere years and even decades of cellaring to unfold fully.
I have collected Burgundies for more than 20 years … only a few of the red Burgundies I have bought from the vintages 1996 to 2014 are what I call fully matured. So I have been extremely happy to enjoy my 1997s, 2000s, 2001s at a matured or semi-matured stage while waiting for the big wines from the so called great years.
Focusing only on the “great” vintages often means drinking wines too young, too early and with too little respect for the wine … I truly understand why Frédéric Mugnier in the future will keep the Musigny for some years before he release the wine.
In my view one need to embrace the so called lesser vintages to get the maximum pleasure from collecting Burgundian wines.
Just for the record … I’m also optimistic about the 2015s … but only time will show how good or great they are.